On Killing a Tree

 Thinking about the Poem

Question 1. Can a “simple jab of the knife” kill a tree? Why not?

Answer: No, a simple jab of the knife cannot kill a tree because the tree grows gradually taking a lot of nutrients from the earth and feeding itself upon the surface of the earth absorbing sunlight, air and water for many years. Even if one cuts it, it will heal again and grow to the former size.

Question 2. How has the tree grown to its full size? List the words suggestive of its life and activity.

Answer: The tree has grown to its full size by consuming nutrients from the earth, feeding upon its crust absorbing years of sunlight, air and water.

The words suggestive of its life and activity are: absorbing, feeding, rising, consuming and sprouting.

Question 3. What is the meaning of “bleeding bark”? What makes it bleed?

Answer: The “bleeding bark” refers to the fact that the tree has been cut. Just as humans bleed blood when they get wounded, in the same way trees also release some liquid at the place where they are cut. So the trees bleed.

Question 4. The poet says “No” in the beginning of the third stanza. What does he mean by this?

Answer: The poet says “No” in the beginning of the third stanza. It emphasizes the fact that only cutting or chopping is not enough to kill a tree permanently.

Question 5. What is the meaning of “anchoring earth” and “earth cave”?

Answer: The “anchoring earth” means that the earth acts as an anchor and holds the tree tightly, and hence saves it from getting uprooted by flood or storm.

“Earth cave” implies the place where the root of the tree remains hidden, spreads its roots and gets nurtured.

Question 6. What does he mean by “the strength of the tree exposed”?

Answer: By ‘the strength of the tree’, he means to say that whenever one tries to pull out the roots of the tree held inside the deep earth, one will understand the strength of the tree.

Question 7. What finally kills the tree?

Answer: The tree is finally killed when the root of the tree is pulled out entirely from the earth’s cave. After that it is left to the scorching sun, it then gets hardened, bent, and finally dried out. This way the life of the tree gets destroyed.