A visual representation of "Survival" by Gillian Bickley
YUEN Hailey
Good Hope School
In my painting, the place behind the tree is filled with sooty smoke. I used dark colours to show how tormenting human pollution is. Trash can be found near the roots of the tree, which signifies the threat the tree is facing. The city has become so unpleasant that it has driven birds and butterflies away. However, the tree stays loyal to this place despite the declining beauty of nature. The praying hands symbolise that we, humans, should all act together hand in hand to save our nature.
In the poem, the poet is expressing her gratitude and amazement of the tree’s survival in the harsh environment. The long-staying tree has witnessed the transformation of the city and will accompany us to the unknown future. I hope my artwork can raise people’s awareness of climate change and the harm they have caused to Mother Nature. It is high time we took action to save it before it is too late.
Survival
Thank you trees for being there, for staying
when many of the friends you knew─
birds and butterflies ─ have gone;
for flourishing, even; growing old
where concrete buildings
are constantly knocked down.
How brave you are to survive
in a place where the air is foul
and the noise unnatural;
you who should normally expect
to stabilise your roots
in humid humming forests,
alive with the smells of
animal and vegetable life
(not the smells of mineral death, as here).
It is good to look down a street
and, amazed, to see you there,
solid and green and cool, uncompromised
by the advertising posters on your boles;
a promise
that, since there was a past,
there may quite possibly be a future too.
1982
Gillian Bickley
“Survival” was first published in For the Record and other Poems of Hong Kong by Gillian Bickley, p.25. Copyrights© 2003 by Proverse Hong Kong. Reprinted by permission of Proverse Hong Kong. Please approach Proverse Hong Kong by email (proverse@netvigator.com) for permission to use this poem or others in the collection.