The Peach Tree by Sipho Sepamla
The winter comes
shorn of all flapping ears
ears without pierced fleshy lobes
the winter of the dry peach tree
the only tree I know so well
the peach tree is everywhere
the sentinel of my acclaimed urbanity
in the foreground in the backyard
trust me to own
a proudly-made choice of a peach tree
I might be excused for owning no rosebuds
tolerated with an overgrown carefree hedge
castrated for allowing ivy to besiege the house
but wow! I would have no ground for a yard
not statued with a wild peach tree
peach tree peach tree all around
canopy of an elated drinking party
courtyard of the bemused bridal group
handy housewife's family pride
stuffing shelves with juicy canned fruit jars
and oh! my peach tree has its woes
condemned for the shrieks of children at play
it confounds the visitor on a trip to a house with a tree
all houses proclaimed by this landmark
and so the summer rains fall
the ashen ground drinking merrily
quenching the sulking roots of my peach tree
favoured for its long-suffering make-up
redeemer of my forlorn greenish hide-out.
Questions
- Quote a line from the first stanza which suggests that the tree loses its leaves in winter.
- Why is it ironic that the tree should be 'the sentinel of (his) ... urbanity'?
- Why might he be 'excused' for not owning roses?
- List three uses to which the peach tree is put.
- Why are the roots of the tree 'sulking' in the last stanza?
- Identify and explain three different figures of speech from this poem.
- Is this poem an example of "protest poetry"? Support your answer.
