Parting Gift

I went to a quiet small wood Where Nongmaijing hill standing Riding bicycle through lonely roads. To see in solitude nature's beauty The trees, plants, bushes…. I saw once there. The hill once lush,growing barren With each passing day and year It's form transformed. In the bush some laibakngou growing A medicinal plant once grown in abundance In the hills today vanishing. Among the trees a sileima stood Once grown everywhere in the plains Now a days not seen anywhere. I gazed intently at the sileima tree. Wondering if it's the last of its kind, A solitary sentinel in nature's embrace ! There some birds happily chirping, Not the grand choir of yesteryear. Two bubuls flit from branch to branch. Beneath the sileima's shade I stayed With worries that weigh;in a few years That small wood may cease to be. Before going back I plucked From the silleima tree a tiny branch As if a parting gift from the small wood. I kept it in my room and it dried. And in course of time it gone from my room And I forgot that cherished soul.