Like a huge Python, winding round and round
The rugged trunk, indented deep with scars,
Up to its very summit near the stars,
A creeper climbs, in whose embraces bound
No other tree could live. But gallantly
The giant wears the scarf, and flowers are hung
In crimson clusters all the boughs among,
Whereon all day are gathered bird and bee;
✅ Explanation:
The poet describes a large creeper plant that wraps around a tall, old tree like a giant python.
The tree’s bark is rough and covered with scars, but the creeper climbs all the way to the top.
The poet says that such tight hugging would kill any other tree, but this one is strong and
proud. It wears the creeper like a beautiful scarf. Bright red (crimson) flowers grow on its
branches, and birds and bees visit it all day. This shows the tree's strength, beauty, and the
life it supports.
Lines 9–16:
And oft at nights the garden overflows
With one sweet song that seems to have no close,
Sung darkling from our tree, while men repose.
When first my casement is wide open thrown
At dawn, my eyes delighted on it rest;
Sometimes, and most in winter,—on its crest
A gray baboon sits statue-like alone
Watching the sunrise; while on lower boughs
✅ Explanation:
At night, the garden becomes filled with a sweet, never-ending song that comes from the tree.
A bird sings in the dark while everyone else is asleep. In the early morning, when the poet
opens her window (casement), she is happy to see the tree first thing. During winter, a gray
baboon sometimes sits silently on the top of the tree, watching the sunrise like a statue.
Meanwhile, on the lower branches, its baby baboons are jumping and playing. This shows
how the tree is full of life and admired at all times—day and night, by people and animals.
Lines 17–24:
His puny offspring leap about and play;
And far and near kokilas hail the day;
And to their pastures wend our sleepy cows;
And in the shadow, on the broad tank cast
By that hoar tree, so beautiful and vast,
The water-lilies spring, like snow enmassed.
But not because of its magnificence
Dear is the Casuarina to my soul:
✅ Explanation:
The baby baboons (called "puny offspring") jump around and play on the branches. At the
same time, kokilas (a type of bird, often the koel) sing joyfully to welcome the new day.
Nearby, cows slowly make their way to the fields to graze. The tree’s large shadow falls over
a big pond (tank), and in that shade, beautiful water lilies bloom, looking like piles of white
snow. The tree looks huge and grand. But the poet says it’s not just the beauty or size of the
tree that makes it special to her.
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Beneath it we have played; though years may roll,
O sweet companions, loved with love intense,
For your sakes, shall the tree be ever dear.
Blent with your images, it shall arise
In mem'ry, till the hot tears blind mine eyes!
What is that dirge-like murmur that I hear
Like the sea breaking on a shingle-beach?
It is the tree's lament, an eerie speech,
✅ Explanation:
The poet remembers playing under the tree with her dear childhood friends. Even though
many years have passed, she still holds deep love for them. Because of those joyful
memories, the tree will always be special to her. When she thinks of the tree, it brings back
the faces of her lost friends, making her emotional and teary-eyed. Then, she hears a strange,
sad sound—like the sea softly hitting a rocky beach. She imagines that the sound is the tree
mourning, as if it’s crying or speaking in a ghostly way.
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That haply to the unknown land may reach.
Unknown, yet well-known to the eye of faith!
Ah, I have heard that wail far, far away
In distant lands, by many a sheltered bay,
When slumbered in his cave the water-wraith
And the waves gently kissed the classic shore
Of France or Italy, beneath the moon,
When earth lay trancèd in a dreamless swoon:
✅ Explanation:
The poet hopes that the tree’s sad sound (its "lament") might somehow reach her lost friends
who now live in an “unknown land” — meaning they have passed away. Though this place
is unknown, she says people with faith believe in it (possibly referring to heaven). She
explains that even when she was far away in foreign countries like France or Italy, she
imagined hearing that same sad, whispering sound. It reminded her of home. While the sea
slept peacefully and the moonlight touched the shores, the world seemed to be in a deep, still
dream — and she remembered the tree and her loved ones.
Lines 41–48:
And ev'ry time the music rose,—before
Mine inner vision rose a form sublime,
Thy form, O Tree, as in my happy prime
I saw thee, in my own loved native clime.
Therefore I fain would consecrate a lay
Unto thy honor, Tree, beloved of those
Who now in blessed sleep, for aye, repose,
Dearer than life to me, alas! were they!
✅ Explanation:
Every time the poet heard that soft, emotional sound (in the wind, in music, or in memory),
she would picture the tree clearly in her mind. The image of the Casuarina tree would
appear just as it was during her happy younger days, in her beloved homeland. That is why
she wants to write this poem (a "lay" is a poem or song) to honor the tree. It is not just a tree
to her — it was also loved deeply by her childhood friends and family, who have now
passed away (“in blessed sleep”). They were more precious than life to her, and the tree
keeps her memories of them alive.
Lines 49–54 (Final lines):
Mayst thou be numbered when my days are done
With deathless trees—like those in Borrowdale,
Under whose awful branches lingered pale
"Fear, trembling Hope, and Death, the skeleton,
And Time the shadow;" and though weak the verse
That would thy beauty fain, oh fain rehearse,
May Love defend thee from Oblivion's curse.
✅ Explanation:
The poet hopes that when her life is over, the Casuarina Tree will be remembered forever—
like the famous trees in Borrowdale, England, which were made immortal through poetry.
Those trees were described as sacred and powerful, under which even Fear, Hope, Death,
and Time seemed to stand still. She admits that her own poem may be weak or simple, and
might not fully capture the tree’s beauty. But still, she believes that her deep love and
memories tied to the tree will protect it from being forgotten—saving it from “Oblivion’s
curse” (meaning, being erased from memory or time).
