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The poem lists out the various purposes of a tree. The poet seems to be pointing out the aspects in a tree for which one must be grateful for. She shows that trees provide comfort to all creatures in the world. From birds to children, trees provide only benefits. The poet begins by stating the most obvious benefit of the tree. She states how trees prove to be the home of thousands of birds across Nations. They build nests on trees, lay eggs and nurture their young ones. In the day, they fly across borders and rest in the evening on tree tops. The same tree which provides a home to a bird also gives enough enjoyment to children.
Bird nest on a tree
Trees do not see partiality. Its advantages are equally distributed to everyone around it. Human beings yield all kinds of available uses from the tree. Unlike birds who make their nest without causing any hindrance to the tree, humans reshape and remodel trees to make tree houses. A tree house is usually a small dwelling for human which is built on tree tops or in the vicinity of trees. It is most often built in resorts and camps. Trees extend its uses for the entertainment of people. Human make swings and put it up on strong tree branches for them to swing on it. Certain trees like banyan have their own roots hanging from the branch in a way that children can hold on to them and swing from one end to the other. The poet then states that trees are for the wind to blow through. When heavy winds blow in case of a storm, the presence of trees arrests the flow of it. But the effect of heavy winds can disrupt or stretch the roots.
Tree house
Trees are also used by children to hide when they play hide and seek. The trees have huge trunks that can cover up a child completely when he/she hides behind them. The poet seems to focus on the point that trees start branching out its benefits to humans right from a very young age. In the case of adults, trees provide shade and space for them to organize their tea parties under them. One may wonder if the adults think about the blessings that the tree showers on them when they sit there sipping the tea. Trees can also trap kites in their branches when children fly them. The line creates a sense of nostalgia, as there are very few people who fly kites and run around and very few trees to trap them.
Kite struck in a tree
The poet says that the major benefit of planting a tree is that it can provide shade in summer. Here it must be noted that the line is ironical, because the major reason for the intense heat during summer is the lack of enough trees. Planting more trees helps in reducing global warming. Global warming is the gradual heating of the earth's surface due to the emission of harmful green house gases. Trees reduce the amount of carbon-di-oxide in the earth's surface as they absorb them and keep them in control. Trees provide shelter to even stray animals who are affected by the heat. Intense heat during summer can also cause various diseases to humans. Trees help people to remain cool and disease free. The poet also states that trees exist to not give shade in winter. This line is meant in a sarcastic way to note that people forget the shade and benefits given by the tree in the summer as soon as the season changes to winter. In winter, there is considerably less heat and less need for shade. Trees are cut to build hotels and industries, which makes the forthcoming summer more restless with heat.
A tree giving shade
Trees also have another major advantage, that they bear fruit. Although not all trees give fruits, most trees are known to bear fruit. The poet remarks that trees can give apples and also pears. This line is of huge significance as she seems to be referring to the fact that humans give more importance to trees that bear fruits like apples. Apples are supposedly costly fruits and one may not easily cut apple trees. On the contrary, pears are cheap fruits and easily available. The poet says that trees do not discriminate among humans or animals, and therefore humans should not either. People also cut trees for timber. Timber is used to make furniture or to make fire when one is cold. The poet funnily makes a word play and writes it in the same way a human may shout to his friends when he gets excited to cut down a tree for timber. She writes it as 'Timber-r-r'.
Pear tree
Timber
The poet also mentions how different genders perceive trees. When mothers look at it and think of the tree as a good setting which they can paint on their canvas, fathers are just worried about how they have to sweep and clean the leaves that have been shed. The season in this context is autumn. Autumn is a season when leaves are shed by the trees, the reason for which it is called as 'Fall'. When women tend to look at the beauty associated with the season and think of a way to create an impression, Men think of the work they have to do. They also think about collecting the leaves together to help make a fire or selling it for money.
Leaves shed from trees during autumn
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