KILLING OF A TREE
Killing a tree takes much time,
It is simply not an attack of the knife
Will do it. It has grown
Slowly consuming the earth,
5 Rising out of it, feeding
Upon its crust, absorbing
Years of sunlight, air, water,
And out of its leprous hide
Sprouting leaves.
10 So hack and chop
But this alone won’t do it.
Not so much pain will do it.
The bleeding bark will heal
And from close to the ground
15 Will rise curled green twigs,
Miniature boughs
Which if unchecked will expand again
To former size. No,
20 The root is to be pulled out Out
of the anchoring earth ;
It is to be roped, tied,
And pulled out—snapped out
Or pulled out entirely,
25 Out from the earth-cave,
And the strength of the tree exposed,
The source, white and wet,
The most sensitive, hidden
For years inside the earth.
30 Then the matter
Of scorching and choking
In sun and air,
Browning, hardening,
Twisting, withering,
35 And then it is done.
On the basis of your reading of the poem, answer the following questions ‘briefly
(a) Why will Hacking or chopping a tree not ‘kill’ it?
(b) Why is ‘Killing’ a tree is not easy?
(c) ‘Which if unchecked …’ (line 17). To what does ‘which’ here refer?
(d) Find a word from lines 1-10 which means ‘a quick blow’…
(e) Why do you think the ‘source’ of the tree is ‘hidden’?
(f) ‘And pulled out—snapped out’ (line 23). For what does the poet put a long dash in
between these two phrases?
(g) What is the mood of the poet in the beginning?
(h)How will the bleeding bark heal?
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