I have been reading about a distressing phenomenon: all over the world the oldest living things, the great trees are dying.   My poem  "The Tree of Life" is about one such species, the Baobab tree.


I have provided the poem in English, French Spanish and an African language to make it widely accessible to all.

Un viejo *****, en un mes caluroso y seco,
se sentó a la sombra del árbol Baobab.
Las praderas una vez verdes
estaban secos con la sequía,
víctimas de los vientos del cambio.

"Viejo, me llaman viejo". Pensó:
"Mis setenta veranos me han vuelto gris,
pero este árbol Baobab creció alto y fuerte
Cuando las legiones romanas pasaron por aquí ".

El viejo masticó la fruta del baobab
y se hundió en un estado de trance.
Él estaba en un estado mental;
No completamente dormido, no completamente despierto.

Escuchó una voz: "Tengo sed". Decía:
Aunque estaba seguro de que estaba solo.
Parecía que no era una voz humana:
un monótono desapasionado y seco.

"Por generaciones, hombres como tú"
He buscado mi refugio del Sol,
Pero ahora está terminado; la tierra está seca
Y me estoy muriendo, pequeño ".

El anciano lloró al escuchar estas palabras
Para cuando estos árboles mueren, como deben,
Se colapsan sobre el suelo estéril
Tan rápido regresan a Dust.

"El mundo ha cambiado para ti y para mí,
Los vientos están secos debajo del sol.
Perdono el mundo de los hombres
Porque ellos no saben lo que han hecho ".

El viejo se despertó con un comienzo
y se levantó con su bastón.
Lloró al pensar que este árbol moriría

pero las lágrimas no pueden reemplazar a la lluvia.

Mtu mweusi mweusi, katika mwezi mkali wa moto,
ameketi katika kivuli cha mti wa Baobab.
Majani yaliyomo mara moja
walikuwa kavu na ukame,
waathirika wa upepo wa mabadiliko.

"Wazee, wananiita zamani." Alidhani,
"Majira ya joto ya sabini yanigeuka kijivu,
lakini mti huu wa Baobab ulikua mrefu na wenye nguvu
Wakati majeshi ya Kirumi yalipitia njia hii. "

Mzee huyo alitafuta matunda ya baobab
na akaingia kwenye hali kama hali.
Alikuwa katika hali ya akili;
Sio usingizi, sio macho kabisa.

Aliposikia sauti: "Nina kiu." Ilisema,
Ingawa alikuwa na uhakika alikuwa peke yake.
Ilionekana si sauti ya binadamu:
monotone kavu ya ubongo.

"Kwa vizazi, wanaume kama wewe
Walitaka makazi yangu kutoka kwenye jua,
Lakini sasa imekamilika; nchi imeharibika
Na mimi nina kufa, mdogo. "

Mtu mzee alilia kusikia maneno haya
Kwa maana miti hizi zinapokufa, kama lazima,
Wao huanguka juu ya ardhi yenye ubongo
Hivyo haraka kurudi kwenye Vumbi.

"Dunia imebadilika kwa wewe na mimi,
Upepo ni kavu chini ya jua.
Ninasamehe ulimwengu wa wanadamu
Kwa maana hawajui waliyofanya. "

Mtu mzee aliamka na mwanzo
na akainua na miwa yake.
Alilia kwa kufikiri mti huu utafa

lakini machozi hawezi kuchukua nafasi ya mvua.

Un vieil homme noir, dans un mois chaud et sec,
assis à l'ombre du Baobab.
Les prairies autrefois verdoyantes
étaient secs avec la sécheresse,
victimes des vents du changement.

"Vieux, ils m'appellent vieux." Il pensait,
"Mes soixante-dix étés m'ont rendu gris,
mais cet arbre baobab est devenu grand et fort
Quand les légions romaines ont passé par là. "

Le vieil homme mâchait le fruit du baobab
et a coulé dans un état de transe comme.
Il était dans un état d'esprit;
Pas tout à fait endormi, pas tout à fait réveillé.

Il a entendu une voix: "J'ai soif".
Bien qu'il soit sûr qu'il était seul.
Cela ne semblait pas une voix humaine:
un monotone sec et sans discernement.

"Pour les générations, les hommes comme vous
J'ai cherché mon abri du soleil,
Mais maintenant c'est fini; la terre est desséchée
Et je meurs, mon petit.

Le vieil homme a pleuré pour entendre ces mots
Car quand ces arbres meurent, comme ils le doivent,
Ils s'effondrent sur le sol stérile
Donc, rapidement, ils reviennent à la poussière.

"Le monde a changé pour vous et moi,
Les vents sont secs sous le soleil.
Je pardonne au monde des hommes
Car ils ne savent pas ce qu'ils ont fait. "

Le vieil homme s'est réveillé avec un début
et s'est soulevé avec sa canne.
Il a pleuré de penser que cet arbre mourrait

mais les larmes ne peuvent pas remplacer la pluie.

An old black man, in a hot dry month,
sat in the shade of the Baobab tree.
The once verdant grasslands
were dry with drought,
victims of the winds of change.

“Old, they call me old.” He thought,
“my Seventy summers have turned me gray,
but this Baobab tree grew tall and strong
When Roman legions passed this way.”

The old man chewed the baobab fruit
and sank into a trance like state.
He was in a state of mind;
Not quite asleep, not quite awake.

He heard a voice: “I thirst.” It said,
Though he was sure he was alone.
It seemed not a human voice:
a dry dispassionate monotone.

“For generations, men like you
Have sought my shelter from the Sun,
But now it is finished; the land is parched
And I am dying, little one.”

The old man wept to hear these words
For when these trees die, as they must,
They collapse upon the barren ground
So quickly they return to Dust.

“The world has changed for you and me,
The winds are dry beneath the sun.
I forgive the world of men
For they know not what they have done.”

The old man woke up with a start
and raised himself up with his cane.
He wept to think this tree would die

but tears cannot replace the rain.

Sunday morning on a dusty local diamond,
We gather together around about nine.
We try to recapture the glory of our youth
With bodies that, decidedly, are well past their prime.

I strike a line drive between two chubby fielders
By the time I reach third I am gasping for breath.
The coach waves his arms to encourage me home
But what I need now is an oxygen tent.

Charlie got sunburned and Eddy got drunk
Johnny went hitless and James split his pants.
When the last out is made we have lost ten to seven.
We all dreamed of the Pros, but we hadn’t  a chance.

We repair to Shenanigans to have some libations,
Some burgers and brews will ease aches and pains
We share dubious tales of our former glories;
When talent has faded- illusions remain.

Strange to see it summed up in just a few lines.
Mary Lou Marion, the little girl of Louise and Grazio.
She went to my high school, three years behind me.
She worked here then she worked there.
She wed some man I never met and had four sons.
They lived here and they lived there.
The Grandkids were born.
She never noticed the lump on her breast;
Not until it was far too late.
It was not a bad life, Ordinary perhaps.
I will not claim to know what she believed,
Only what we had been taught.
She knew the joys and sorrows
of being a woman
She fought bravely to the end
Against the cancer that took her.


Isn’t she all of us?
Just a thought in the mind of God.

Goodbye Mary Lou

Rest in Peace