1.A womanWho saw a manTied to a tree& burned —The woman. 2.         As for the name & address of the TreeThe ‘Country of origin’The ethnicity. (‘single origin’ in small printOn the plain brown coverOf the Trader Joe chocolate)She said the dayShe learnedWhat a man can do to anotherThe species            The specimen(You halt at the genus)            The familyClass & classification& watch it tooLike woodWith fire-retardant 3.& the world et al fateless faultless on a Thursday    As on a Tuesday,In colour co-ordinationBlue socks, red sky, soThe village’s road infra-structureSewerage system, street names,Mountains.Their first car, her mother’s domicile at birth,Father’s occupationShe didn’t say is of no importanceThe Sun in its wisdom.The world as representation                   All plays a part        The go-slow of leaves & the Weather Pattern,        The young husband crossing the road.You do not askYou do not ask the nationHave you votedHow does one vote for the unborn?You might say ‘Have you eaten?’ 4.‘& what is the plural of the brother of your parents?’        When ‘the plural for the brother of Man’Was the questionShe had forHer teacherIn the New World.In dreams she still speaks the tongue of the Region,In trouble sleep its rural accent. 5.It is the fashionHe leaves the worldTheir car, the village, their front door                & the townsmen & womenWhat he thoughtThey had in common                UntilAt the town square                By the fire she stoodThe very medium of so collaborativeAn act,When they took action, it is         As if the tree was designated& he was the chosen. 6.         When the end cameShe didn’t object         ‘You can only feel better now’She was of the opinion.She took the first train out of the regionWith nothing more extraneousThan what she was wearing            As for her relation to the manNot ‘in retrospect’ (nothing left to burn)But retroactively, single& childless a life she continuesTo this day, she said,‘Each day’Only because she felt she wasOwed an explanation.      For beyond the blind causeDoes the world also determineWhat is survivable?      & Who decides?She felt certain – in these mattersShe was not un-innocentIf only she hadn’t washed her hair the day Before, for instance,& If only she had.We thought ‘before & after’ were 2 birdsBut they are oneThe tree is garrulous               Or just deafDeaf to expostulations &SomnambulantDestiny or destinationIt can happen.That the birds are one & one& oneIt makes a din.There is sufficient reason.The tree did not fall silentSwirling the charred                               the winged bitsThe tree in name or form should pose no Problem.It sheds the adjectivals in season          ‘Accountable to generations to come’The treeThe tree speaks the language of the corporateIt ‘manages its assets’. 7Now in the ‘quarter past 3’ of her lifeShe said                       She saidPointing to a Made-in-ChinaTree in a concrete potSome gewgaw installation in all innocence            You needn’t blink:            An object of studiedInstitutional indifferenceEndemically ‘Non-Violent’She said in the Palm Court of the Shopping MallNot that it is of no importanceName & Address of the tree(Withheld)Like that of the other person                The genus the speciesNo, she did not say it is of no interestWhat specimen of a manThe homo sapiensAgain she falls short.      To spare the singularWe decry CrimesThe Crimes of a Nation            So peculiar to Man                      All palesPales into insignificanceSuch as the mind is equipped to cope         & as often return toIn the first personThe day she learnt ‘Men are not trees’‘You can’t take them all down, No’Here at the Bay Area StarbucksWe are in agreement.    The world as simulacrum for half an hourA gross effigy of a polyethylene cupIn the palm of your hand‘Run!&You run into Men everywhere.’           But for the oneThat mattersThe one who knew         What she was like the day beforeHasn’t she just washed her hairThe only oneWho knew the differenceIs in heaven she said          She is adamant       The squiggle of a manCrawls down the woodBy fire    They were mistakenHe didn’t set out that day to betray Man orChange a Nation     & didn’t the World step aside as Representation? Yes butOnly becauseShe was presentThe woman     Nothing to show or tellYou sure can’t spot herIn the Shopping MallShe has made her appearanceYou will not meet again                For whomThe World must pass                           Or failPasses mainlyFades back to RepresentationThe World corrects itself:The World will survive the Species.(Starbucks, Palo Alto, 29 June 2024)