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"I catch the eye of a man
sitting in the corner
of the cafe reading alone"
-a fleeting moment like everything else in the bustling city of London
-the adjective "alone" represents desolation and solidarity as despite being surrounded by people his only company is a book "about trees" - longs to be in a place surrounded by life
"Last week I sat alone
on a stump, deep in Zelandia forest"
-flashback displays how the speaker seeks refuge in his memories of a better place- in the arms of nature
-the echo of alone highlights that being alone in the forest is different, its inviting and comforting. despite the lack of people he is still surrounded by life and vibrancy.
"with sun-syrupped Kauri trees"
-visual imagery of trees drenched in warmth and light
sibilance within "sun-syrupped" reflecting the soothing atmosphere and contrasting the modernised London
"when all sound disappeared, I was tuned
into a silence that was not an absence"
-the speaker finds comfort in silence
-silence does not remove the perpetual beauty of nature, but rather allows the nature to be appreciated and absorbed by face value
-the consonant s lulls the reader into a similar atmosphere of peace
"I wonder what the trees
would say about us?
-rhetorical question as the speaker wonders about the trees perception on humanity who have caused them so much damage for their own needs.
-the personification of the trees exemplifies the damage being done to them, as they aren't simply inanimate objects but they are living things who feel damage and feel betrayed as despite providing us with many services -oxygen, paper, we just take and do not give back.
"for any grey tree in London,
for the family they don't have"
-juxtaposition beween "grey tree" and "sun-syrupped trees"
-the singular noun "tree" compared to the plural "trees" in the forest hints to its isolation and forced loneliness humanity has subjected nature to as well as themselves as they can't appreciate the vast beauty and company of it.
-use of anaphora augments the endless misfortune nature is condemned to, and reinforces the fact that humanity is to blame for this and should be repentant as the speaker is.
FORM AND STRUCTURE
-free verse and enjambment creates a conversational tone as the speaker is almost story telling about this profound journey that has opened his eyes and filled the absence deafness has created.
-couplets all the way through creates a sense of intimacy with nature.
-sibilance, assonance, and consonance creates a rhythm
