The Angsana Tree
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There was a stately angsana tree
Right opposite my house
Lending its shade and shelter
To many tired travellers.
I played under the canopy
Of this old angsana tree
From the age of one to twenty three.
In April when the weather became hot
My angsana tree would bloom
Little blossoms of golden yellow
And when the wind blows
The roads and field in front of my house, is covered in yellow snow.
My little friends and I
Would sweep our fragrant confetti
Yellow angsana petals
Became a princesses’ bed
Then you would hear giggles and squeals
As we took turns to dive
Into our bed of fragrant confetti
And watched the petals flew, as if they became alived.
Or pretended to be a groom and a bride
Seated on a nipah leaf, which was our horse carriage ride,
As others cheered, and threw confetti.
Oh my lovely tree
How you have given me shade
With your strong boughs
Under your canopy I have laid
And the many times I have swung
Or like a monkey clung
To those strong, reliable boughs
Cradling me like a mother’s loving arms
Oblivious to danger and harm
Sweet tree,
I am now twenty three,
And I will have to leave,
To a faraway land,
To join my husband,
With him my fate lies.
Away from home, away from family,
Away from the shelter of my angsana tree.
I was dealt with reality.
How little I knew of this man,
Whom I have chosen to marry,
Had a debt of accrued taxes,
At 29 filed for bankruptcy.
Debt collectors and bankers, called on us daily.
And then one day,
An unexpected call,
From the police,
With a warrant to arrest,
Brought by a worried mother who would not rest,
As my husband had slept,
With the ‘worried mother’s’ teenage daughter,
And this secret he kept.
I became his alibi,
And he firmly deny,
And asked the policeman why?
Would a married man sleep,
With another woman,
When he already had a wife to keep,
His needs satisfied.
The police accepted, what my husband testified.
My trust in him broken,
I started to confront,
And asked for some bit of truth,
Instead we fought, with knife and tooth.
It came to a point when he threatened,
My dead body he will send
To my parents.
One day I escaped from this insanity,
And returned to the safety,
Of my angsana tree,
Holding a little package,
I dug a hole to bury,
Under the green canopy,
What would be my tarnished youth.
And laid down for a while,
Eventually this loving tree, my pain she soothed.
Right opposite my house
Lending its shade and shelter
To many tired travellers.
I played under the canopy
Of this old angsana tree
From the age of one to twenty three.
In April when the weather became hot
My angsana tree would bloom
Little blossoms of golden yellow
And when the wind blows
The roads and field in front of my house, is covered in yellow snow.
My little friends and I
Would sweep our fragrant confetti
Yellow angsana petals
Became a princesses’ bed
Then you would hear giggles and squeals
As we took turns to dive
Into our bed of fragrant confetti
And watched the petals flew, as if they became alived.
Or pretended to be a groom and a bride
Seated on a nipah leaf, which was our horse carriage ride,
As others cheered, and threw confetti.
Oh my lovely tree
How you have given me shade
With your strong boughs
Under your canopy I have laid
And the many times I have swung
Or like a monkey clung
To those strong, reliable boughs
Cradling me like a mother’s loving arms
Oblivious to danger and harm
Sweet tree,
I am now twenty three,
And I will have to leave,
To a faraway land,
To join my husband,
With him my fate lies.
Away from home, away from family,
Away from the shelter of my angsana tree.
I was dealt with reality.
How little I knew of this man,
Whom I have chosen to marry,
Had a debt of accrued taxes,
At 29 filed for bankruptcy.
Debt collectors and bankers, called on us daily.
And then one day,
An unexpected call,
From the police,
With a warrant to arrest,
Brought by a worried mother who would not rest,
As my husband had slept,
With the ‘worried mother’s’ teenage daughter,
And this secret he kept.
I became his alibi,
And he firmly deny,
And asked the policeman why?
Would a married man sleep,
With another woman,
When he already had a wife to keep,
His needs satisfied.
The police accepted, what my husband testified.
My trust in him broken,
I started to confront,
And asked for some bit of truth,
Instead we fought, with knife and tooth.
It came to a point when he threatened,
My dead body he will send
To my parents.
One day I escaped from this insanity,
And returned to the safety,
Of my angsana tree,
Holding a little package,
I dug a hole to bury,
Under the green canopy,
What would be my tarnished youth.
And laid down for a while,
Eventually this loving tree, my pain she soothed.
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