There is something sad and heartbreaking about an orange tree ruing its fruitless state. That’s why the moment I chanced upon this poem I decided to highlight it for “Versedays” this week. Written by Frederico Garcia Lorca, one of Spain’s most loved poets of the 20th century, The Song of the Barren Orange Tree immediately drew me in with its plaintive questioning of its self-worth. Of course, the tree can morph into all of us, the way we beat ourselves up when life seems futile.
I loved these lines the most
Why was I born among mirrors?
The day walks in circles around me,
and the night copies me
in all its stars.
Or maybe it’s Lorca lamenting his own life, a homosexual, and a man given to deep thoughts, trying to fit in a society that was so different from his world.
