The Proud and The Humble - Visitor's Poem

by Ademola Adejumo
(Netherlands)

On the dark of winter where bitter wind blows
above the surface, a big strong oak is lying
dead full of ants, defeated weathered oak tree
little to no honor remains, oak with gnarled
trunk, weathered, twisted with gnarled bark,
English men fear their trees.
Uprooted on the ground, while the palm-tree that
planted by the rivers of water is standing and
prosper, bringing forth coconuts in its season.
They thought that the storm would have more
easily destroyed the palm-tree rather than the
strong oak tree, which up till now has always
weathered the strongest storms.
The strong proud oak tree was forced to fall to
the ground, caught up in a dewy cobweb full of ants.
The strong late oak tree where ants made their fungus
was forced to fall to the ground because it does not
know how to bend over for the storms, while palm-tree
humble itself and gave in to the wind and bowed down
and the tempest could not do it any harm.