Inventory: Trees of Knowledge

[Anthony V. Capildeo OPL is a Trinidadian Scottish writer of poetry and non-fiction. Recent work includes Polkadot Wounds (Carcanet, 2024), and an essay series on touch and mourning. They are Writer in Residence at the University of York.

This poem was originally published in the Lent/Easter 2025 edition of our newsletter - read the rest here!]

The guava tree was cut down

It was better to install water storage tanks

The orange tree was cut down

It could not be disentangled from a vine

The cherry tree, its neighbour, was cut down

Perhaps a similar vine had spread to it

The plum tree was cut down

Its boughs overhung the drain

The banana trees were cut down

The trash at their roots attracts snakes

The ginger lilies also were cut down

The lushness of their leaves attracting snakes

The sapodilla tree was cut down

Although it was fruitful, even joyful

The white violet was transplanted

Its velvet passed away in sandy soil

The miniature rose was left unwatered

It, and its flame-to-white buds, withered

The pomegranate tree was cut down

Also fiery, and fruitful – Why?

The entanglement of our thought with trees!

Mortal, do you remember you are human?

I do not know why it was cut down

The pomegranate tree that near kissed my window

Anthony V. Capildeo