“Why it is not quite easy to kill a tree?

“On Killing a Tree’ depicts the process of destroying a tree. Gieve Patel declares that the process of killing a tree is a long one. A simple jab of the knife or hacking and chopping are not enough to kill a tree. It requires a lot of effort. The tree withstands all the blows brought upon it by human beings. Withstanding all the torture and pain, the tree heals itself and green twigs appear again. Therefore to destroy the tree completely, one needs to uproot it from the earth which acts like an anchor for the tree providing it essential nutrients. The final role is of the sun and air which will then turn the uprooted tree brown, hard, twisted and withered.

How does a tree grow? What are the different stages to kill it?

The growth of a tree is like the growth of a human being. A tree grows up over the years slowly consuming the earth and absorbing essential nutrients from it. It matures absorbing innumerable years of sunlight, air and water.

In this poem Gieve Patel sarcastically describes the different stages of killing a tree. A simple jab of the knife or hacking and chopping are not enough to destroy a tree. Hacking and chopping will only harm the bark of a tree. The injured bark will heal itself and small green leaves will appear again. Therefore the tree needs to be uprooted mercilessly from the soil which provides essential nutrients to it. This process will expose the root of the tree. Then in the Final stage the sun and air will take their toll on the fallen tree and the uprooted tree will become brown, stiff, twisted and withered.