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The Palm Tree
Hail Phoenix Dactylifera !
The palm tree dear friends is indeed
A wondrous and so extraordinary tree,
Is highly prized by folks of many a creed
throughout the course of human history.
Unlike the oak, that strong and boldly stands
Upright and proud to face the stormy gale,
The Palm, so supple, only sways ad bends
While tempests rage and high winds howl and wail.
The palm is nimble and resilient
To face the fiercest storms and only sways,
It gathers in its fronds and and bows and bends,
And lets the furious winds have their own way.
This takes the spunk out of the raging fiends,
Their feistiness and their destructive zest,
And disappointed thus the fatal winds
Harm other trees that deem to them the best.
The gentle palm tree greets with smiles the wind,
Defers, it seems, and simply does bow low,
As does its cousinj tree, the Tamarind,
That elsewhere has its place to thrive and grow.
The sturdy Oaks, and poplars in the field,
When gusts hit hard may just come crashing down,
So mighty striving high they will not yield,
And often lose their blooming leafy crown.
Palms keep prioducing fruit in their old age*
And do not halt and stop producing it,
So says the Pslmist poet king and sage,
Palms are for sanctuaries prized and fit.
Wherever palms adorn, grow warm deep bonds,
And people love the palms beneath their roof,
Caressing, blessing with their swaying fronds,
Refreshing and sustaining peace and love.
Fronds sway apart, and then again they gather-
As if to speak: “so long has been the wait”
Like happy spirits that embrace each other
And then with love will interpenetrate.
Ah ! supple swaying fronds, you that produce
Yet in advanced old age the finest fruit, -
They looked for you the hungry wandering Jews
To be their sole sustaining source of food.
Lo! beauty, shelter, shade and succulence,
A staple in so many derserts dry,
A stable source of food of excellence
They treasured it and prized it very high.
Old Jericho's renown came from the Date,
In Hebrew tongue and language called “Tamar”
And visitors flocked through the city’s gate
For dates so succulent from near and far.
A symbol is the palm of victory,
Of sacrifice, of peace and martyrdom,
And beauteous palms grace the solemnity,
In sanctuaries, palaces and home.
A symbol of Hosannah's hope and faith,
Besung and praised in many a splendid Psalm,
Of Resurrection, beauty, joy and grace,
The beautious delightful supple Palm.
A symbol of what's beautious and good,
Of soothing balmy shelter and of shade,
Of permanance in well producing fruit,
This precious gift of God,- the Palm and Date.
(Psalm 139 and psalm 92)
