Along the road to the village spring There lay a huge acacia tree Erect with pride and grandeur With straight towering shoots Escaping from its trunk from all sides It gave a captivating serene That no other tree was capable of. With its massive leafing and shady top, All children in the village sought refuge from The scorching sun to and from the village spring. With its extensive underground rooting, It was a home to infinite species of reptiles, rodents and insects And with its fresh fertile soils around its base, It was a benefactor to multiple grasses, berries and weeds, With its scenting flowers, It was a habitat to bees, beetles, butterflies and moths. In the cool evenings, it was a theatre to exhibitions of talents It was a choir of voices; The buzzing of bees The dronning of beetles The barking of foxes The yelling of Guinea fowls The sqauwking of doves The whistling of birds Gave every passersby a pleasant feeling, As the big acacia looked on with pride and satisfaction As a happy father witnessing his son’s success. The acacia tree wasn’t just a tree but a village pride It wasn’t just a village pride but a rare habitat The acacia tree was a home away from home to many. With time, The acacia tree was under siege, His towering high shoots were fancied for electric poles His strength and durability taken advantage of For hard wood timber exports to the city His massive leafing and shady top encroached on For mulches by the farmers His sharp erect thorns extinct with mushrooming herbalists His parade of twigs cleared by bee keepers for hives His huge trunking uprooted to give space for A modern and wider road to the spring And his dead remains saw fit for fine charcoal. Time reached and the acacia tree and its remains were no more. And the way to the village spring was nolonger filled with newness, purity and fortitude, The magic to all that had been undone
From: Vol.09 N.01 – A Poetics of Rights
The Acacia Tree Along the Road
by
Amanya Aklam