A sprawling Oak
An ode to visibility
Distinct from distance
Despite trees, giant, surround it

Its roots spread around the trunk
Like a number of fleshy thighs
Resting upon the earth
The Oak sits

While the rest around it,
Stand with respect
Bent and tilting,
As if before their king,

In a courtly proceeding
When wind ventures amidst them
A conversation ensues
As much of words

As of gestures.
The Oak only nods
The wind watchful around this elegance
Is too uncaring with

A sapling sitting between
The Oak’s two fleshy thighs
As if a child plays within
The lap of its mother

Before the Oak now motherly
A kingdom fades into Nature
An image of beauty, earthly
Brings a radical change of order.

– Tabish Nawaz (2005 Batch)

This piece was shared by Tabish Nawaz on email on March 15, 2018. This is his second submission to Oakgrovians Young & Old.