Poetry Contest : Fall of an Iroko by @jochris

THE FALL OF AN IROKO TREE

I'm the color green in my blissful days
I'm the color yellow in my waning days
I'm of different gender
With the same agenda

Am natures goodness
The creator creation

I'm an edifice
I'm the Treasured Statue sitting right at the village square
I'm a wonder to my admirers

I'm the landmark
Thrilled by the wind
Scorned by the rain
Yet, i stand

My roots are without ranges
My trunks are canopies
For the refuge

In silence i grew
Nurtured by nature
Tortured by creature
While I moaned
They smiled they've won

I’m the essence of their being
The roof over their head
I'm the morsel in their Stomach
The idol in their mysteries
I'm the Mantra in their histories
The hero in their novels.

For days I laid in wasteland
Stacked by mankind
With ruins of different kind

Gone are the days
When my fallen branches are honored
Gone are the days
When my seeds are treasured
My evolution awaits my extinction
But "NO," says the creators will

My roots are their route
The bridge to their clans
My worth are legacy
Laid for posterity

I'm the episode of great sons
My sprouting birthed men
Yet, without remorse
Men tossed me to fall
And when i fell
The ground quivered
"The iroko has fallen"

My nooks where their sanctuary
For centuries they worshipped me for the Trinity
Fed me with wine, blood, and cowries
I drank and eat to stupor

I flung my leaves
And branches
Shaded the much I could
They took it for my words

They said,
"I Fought their wars without armor
Alongside their warriors."
My bark bruised the warfare of arrows
Stabbed with spade of glittering peak
We sang songs of victories
With gallant men
and fearless women
We combed territories
Our bravery was without boundaries

But when they received salvation
They sang songs of redemption
Left every form of evil divination
And tossed me to fall
And when i fell
The ground quiver
"The iroko has fallen."

I have never spoken
And never will I
But my wonders
Shall never retire.

---

Photo by @jochris

I'm inviting @wealthmary and @basky14 to participate.