Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[Bubu]

hello,
Here are the 4 stanzas of a simple poem “tree”

1] “It takes much time to kill a tree
Not a simple job of knife will do it
It has grown slowly, consuming the earth.”

What does the phrase “consuming the earth” mean? Does it mean depending on the earth? Living on it? Feed on it?
In what other ways can we express the second line “not a…..do it” and what does “a simple job of knife” refer to”?

2] “Rising out of it,
Feeding upon its crust,
Absorbing years of sunlight, air, water,
And out of its leprous hide sprouting leaves”

What does the “its” refer to in the 4th line? The earth’s? Or the bark of the tree?

3] Out of the anchoring earth
It is to be roped…..and pulled out

What does “anchoring earth” mean?

4] And the strength of the tree exposed
The source, white and wet
The most sensitive, hidden from years
Inside the earth

What does it mean to say that the strength of the tree is exposed?
What does “hidden from years” mean? Does it mean the same as hidden for years?

Thanks
bubu

[LucentShade]

Stanza 1:
I think "consuming the earth" means "feeding from it" or "eating what is in the earth." I don't think it has a negative meaning, like we would find in "The fire consumed the house." In spoken English, we would probably say "A simple job of knife will not (won't) do it"--the poet is playing with word order to fit the rhythum of the poem. (This involves "iambic pentameter," but that is beyond what we need to explain here.) As for "A simple job of knife,"in combination with the rest of the line, basically means, "You can't kill a tree just by cutting it with a knife." The "job" refers to the actual action of cutting.

Stanza 2:
"its" refers to the tree, and I can see how this can be confusing, because in "rising out of it," "it" refers to the earth.

Stanza 3:
Ah, another component of "fancy English"--this features a gerund (also known as "-ing verb") acting as an adjective. "anchoring earth" means "the earth that anchors the tree"--or, "holds the tree down." (This uses the same idea as a ship's anchor--something that holds something else in one fixed, unchanging position.)

Stanza 4:

This occurs after the tree is pulled out of the ground, in stanza 3. After that action, the roots are exposed, and I assume that this is what the poet means--the roots are the "strength of the tree," since they hold it in the ground and provide water for the rest of the tree.

"Hidden from years" is a metaphor, and "years" does not carry its literal meaning. It does not mean the same as "hidden for years." "Hidden from years" means that it was hidden from the "forces of time"--wind, snow, fire, rain, animals, human activity--all the things that might damage or destroy things in the world. ("Hidden for years" would mean that it was kept in secret or in hiding for some number of years, and I'm pretty sure the poet is going for the other meaning here.)

Hope this helped!

[Bubu]

Thanks a lot Lucent shade,
Your's was the best answer. It was of great help. Are you a native speaker of english? Are you a teacher?
Thank you very very much.
bubu

[LucentShade]

You're welcome, bubu--I am a native speaker of English, but I teach Spanish, not English. In fact, most of my knowledge of grammar comes from learning Spanish, not from my own language.