The Poison Tree

He sowed in the dingy soil of his backyard,

an inch of a seed of hatred; angst; ire!

everyday he nurtured and watered it, with great care.

with emotions deep, of rage and vice.

Years passed on, the sapling turned into a plant.

With vices and revenge brimming from every thorn,

and thus the tree bore fruits this way.

little green bells of round, they were crude!

he looked at them, satisfaction a silver lining in the void,

Now he could show off his pride!

least some steal of his crown, the miser put a fence around.

he kept up vigil, of late night and dawns.

guarding what he thought his own.

thin and withdrawn he became,

from his daily rituals of pain.

he forgot love; thoughts of care and concern,

were pushed behind those frenzied frowns!

all was forgotten in this world, sans the green giant in the yard.

then came a dawn after a night, more bright than the gleaming daylight.

he looked up from his daily watch, tiny fingers reached up,
Encircled his world of pain, grabbing at the shirt’s end,
the cherub’s face lit up in toothless grin

light flashed across the dark, thousand nights of cold pure hate,

lay forgotten swept up on a far away shore, carried thus far by the tides of love,
like a thunder in the night that strikes upon the cold earth and sets it alight,

he found solace in the little urchin’s heart, and saw divinity within.

every one reclaimed him back from the dead

his wife raised a thousands words of prayers

his son thanked the universe above, for he felt too beguiled to thank the stars!

but the clever daughter-in-law knew, what was it that got him this due

and kept this secret hidden in the bosom, least the green tree (of hate) reared again and claimed its prized throne!

the cherub ran askew all over the lawn,

everyday he thought of chopping down the tree of yonder,

to make space for the tiny legs to run free!

he feared the unknown that pierced his soul.

days passed by in a haze

soon the tree and the fruits were forgotten; the little boy grew up in haste

the tree lay in a corner in the lawn, obscured from mind and vision!

Soon the curious legs found its way around the house, into the yard,

across the ground, to the dark formidable green

what was shunned in haste, now found its admiration in innocent gaze

the boy reached out for the tree, that was begotten of hate and misery!

the gleaming fruits gleamed in passion more, to have found someone to lure again, 

as they lay scattered across the ground.

reaching out, the fingers curled around a marble of green

that was poisoned with hate and prejudice

swift hands carried it to the mouth,

a cry of pain, a wail, a howl.

his heart recognized his years of efforts in a bout, and his heart crashed against giant boulders in the sea of his tormented emotions deep.

rushing out to the yard he cussed his stars

that had begotten the ill-fated moment when he sowed the seeds (of hatred!)

there lay the child, a half eaten fruit of vile between his teeth,

the dear face turning white and blue and ghoulish,

until it shriveled up with all the hate that the poison fruit bore,

amidst the laments and wails of the departed,

deliverance over, the tree’s purpose fulfilled,

it lay shriveled and dead.