Tree Which Offered Shade

those powerful hands, embodying strength, offering a refuge, the determined voice which carried assurance to fearful souls.... a banyan tree stretching its branches to provide shade to the beaten. an unsung warrior, vigorously protecting uprooted, heart-broken, shelterless... after a devastating partition of the homeland, an unforeseen, traumatic curse crushing millions of sufferers, a man in his prime, giving up dreams of comfort, luxury, indulgence, so others feel safe, after a harrowing experience! embracing a life of torturous self-deprivation, a life of agonizing separation - from own loved ones, so others live with theirs! . For me, one man symbolized - how to climb uphill... carrying a formidable weight, on the steepest mountain, and reach the summit with sheer determination and indomitable spirit! Those footprints are never lost from the shores of my life! My Father's! Reference: The Great Banyan Tree is over 250 years old and covers about 14,500 square meters of land (3.5 acres) in the Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Botanical Garden near Kolkata (Calcutta), making it the widest tree in the world. Banyan is the tree native to India and is botanically it is known as Ficus benghalensis. Partition Of India in 1947 was a major historical event, which affected millions of people, and families, who lost their land, property, all belongings, and many of them had to migrate to a country new to them. \ Modified from " Courage That Inspired Awe" May 2, 2021 SECOND PLACE For "Footprints - Old or New Prize" Poetry Contest Sponsor: Carolyn Devonshire "To Honour My Hero" Poetry Contest Sponsor: Anoucheka Gangabissoon FIRST PLACE