Cut Not a Tree
By Elizabeth Kamara, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Cut not a tree, you know its worth
Cut not a tree, it has a life
To live and breathe and grow healthy
Trees you need in life
For rain tears drain from dawn to dusk
Clashes and abuse for drinking water
Thorns and nails for bathing and cooking
And yet you cut those trees
Will you cry for food
When trees you have?
Will you cry for rain
Or cry in vain?
The air you breathe
Purified by trees
The wind like a dove –
Turn now and thank the trees
Cut not a tree fo’the sake of God
Cut not a tree for your own sake
For spirits of trees will have their say
And God Himself will speak
Plant thou a tree for the sake of God
Plant now a tree for you and yours
For trees were created by God for us
To live in mutual harmony