The Bitterness of Neem
- poem
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(thanks to ChatGPT for helping me to translate my original Tamil
Poem into English )
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You saved me
when a goat’s hoof
was about to crush me.
You gathered the earth,
moulded it around me,
and helped me stand upright.
You told them
to pour over me
the water left
after washing your household vessels.
You rejoiced
when you saw
my tender green leaves
sprouting into life.
That was the end
of my childhood.
As I grew,
you broke my little twigs
and brushed your teeth with them.
You plucked
my fresh green shoots
and fed them to your little goat.
When your child
was struck by smallpox,
you gave him life
with my leaves.
One day,
you placed a chair
beneath my shade
and sat there,
negotiating my price.
Today,
as I stand watching
the axe fall upon my branches,
you stand there too—
as still as a tree.
— Nagendra Bharathi
