A journal of art + literature engaging with nature, culture, the environment & ecology

Trees

Rema Tabangcura, The Philippines-Singapore

 

Every day, I am greeted 

by a fresh breeze you provide,

enjoying your magnificent greenery 

that sways beautifully

along with the gentle wind.

Birds gracefully dance and happily chirp, 

jumping from branch to branch.

Your shadows lend comfort to every creature 

who longs for it, sheltering them 

from the sun's harshness.

Viewing the scene reduces my negativity, 

filling me with positivity. 

 

You're like a Mother who bestows love,

care and blessings.

You never let anyone fall,

treating us like your own soul.

You give everything that you can give. 

 

But we end up taking you for granted.

Humans treat you rudely,

cutting you up for settlement,

building houses, destroying 

you in the name of development.

Ravening your virtues in the lap of luxury.

Polluting Mother Nature

has made you broken and withered.

Resisting the unending turbulence of life. 

 

The time will come and you will thrive again.

You will stand tall and strong 

in your own solutions,

in the power of rejuvenation.

The power to heal yourself. 

You are a curer, surviving without us. 

But we cannot live without you,

for you are an intrinsic part of us.

 

Rema Tabangcura is a mother of two boys. She has been working in Singapore as a domestic helper for almost 10 years, and volunteers as a Team Leader at Uplifters, a non-governmental organisation that provides a free online course about Money Management and Personal Growth. Rema started writing when she joined the Daily Life in COVID-19 GROUP, now Arts in Me, founded by the Migrants Writers of Singapore. She loves to read and write as it helps ease her boredom and homesickness.

Two poems by Ow Yeong Wai Kit

Mountain Lion