cOCoNuT

I walked past a whole street lined with broken tree branches just now. While freshly-cut grass has that raw and green smell, just-cut tree branches don’t. Instead, they smell heavy, and woody. And for some reason, they look very sad. The trees no longer stand proud and august. The tress can no longer wave their arms and dance in union with the wind. The trees look broken, defeated.

When I was little, I loved to sit under the coconut tree in front of my house. When the palm fronds swayed above my head, I felt protected. I grew so close to the coconut tree that I can now draw them even with my eyes closed.

I remember learning in science lessons about the wonders of the coconut tree. The fruit can be eaten, the juice can be drunk. The leaves can be used to make brooms, roofing, mats. The husk can be used to make ropes, the shells can be used to make musical instruments.

I heard that if you were to become stranded on a desert island populated by palm trees, you could survive purely on the tree and coconut alone, as the coconut provides all of the required natural properties for survival.

Any takers?