In The Comfort Of The Shade

She was sweating profuse In the midday heat The April sun stood blazing overhead And heat waves came down in fiery might With brusque pricks all over! The umbrella blocked its direct rays But nothing could fetter the piercing heat She felt being baked in an oven Rivulets of sweat trickled down From the nape of her neck and her thighs Clinging her clothes to her legs and feet She walked dragging her feet awkwardly Through the cobbled sidewalk of the steaming street At a distance was seen a tall tree Like a desert traveler, sighting an oasis She walked briskly to its shade Its straggling branches with tender leaves Was like a big open umbrella! With a sigh of relief she wondered Under its wooden elbows What comfort lay in wait! Kind to everyone and everything It didn’t deny its comfy shade to man or beast Its branches, gnarled by long years Gave shelter to the feathered folks At its foot were a few cows Away from the torrid heat, they lay Chewing the cud and fanning flies with their tails Those beasts disciplined in life’s stern school Didn’t show any protest, but gently accommodated The stray pedestrian without any fuss Is not Nature a wonderful arbour Where men and animals cohabit!