Tree Service

A life of devotion.

He sleeps at the edge of the nursery, spends his days in the shade of the mango tree. He keeps the planks for his future coffin nearby. Old friends, the tree will ask questions. They keep him up some nights.

He has brought her branch after branch, hundreds of varieties. She shows him how you may begin with the same seed and grow two very different fruits. Like children, he says.

This is a place of study, he says, for the mangoes of the world.

We are fleeting, he says, but the fruit is eternal. We eat and stay a little while, and then we leave.

I am no scientist, he says, just a servant of this tree.

***

Inspired by (and with borrowed phrases from) recent New York Times article (by Mujib Mashal and Hari Kumar) about Mango Man, also profiled here. 

Author: Stacey C. Johnson

I keep watch and listen, mostly in dark places.

11 thoughts on “Tree Service”

  1. This was beautiful and thought provoking, Stacey.

    Reply

  2. Excellent as always.
    Not sure about the planks for his coffin!

    Reply
  3. Ellie Carpenter – United Kingdom – Writing my memoirs, musings, a little fiction and a lot of poetry as a way of exploring and making the most of my life ... ... Having had a break from writing my blog for more than three years, I decided to return to write my memoirs, some day-to-day observations, views and feelings. My passion is non-fiction poetry. I have a disability and use an electric powerchair called Alfie and let nothing get in the way of living life to the full. I believe that you can never do a kindness too soon and should give credit where credit is due. A smile or a kind word could make the difference between a good or bad day for a person - we never know what's going on for another soul. Those little things, perhaps, practised daily like a mantra, could mean so much to someone else. Thank you for visiting my blog and reading a little more about me. Please, make yourself at home here. You are very welcome. Ellie x 😊
    Ellie Thompson says:

    Such a lovely story and post, Stacey. Where do you find these fascinating articles and photos that you often use as a prompt for your excellent writing? I would never have imagined that one tree could grow so many different varieties of mangoes. Quite amazing. Thanks for sharing this. I really enjoyed it. Xx 🌞🌹💞

    Reply
    1. Ellie Carpenter – United Kingdom – Writing my memoirs, musings, a little fiction and a lot of poetry as a way of exploring and making the most of my life ... ... Having had a break from writing my blog for more than three years, I decided to return to write my memoirs, some day-to-day observations, views and feelings. My passion is non-fiction poetry. I have a disability and use an electric powerchair called Alfie and let nothing get in the way of living life to the full. I believe that you can never do a kindness too soon and should give credit where credit is due. A smile or a kind word could make the difference between a good or bad day for a person - we never know what's going on for another soul. Those little things, perhaps, practised daily like a mantra, could mean so much to someone else. Thank you for visiting my blog and reading a little more about me. Please, make yourself at home here. You are very welcome. Ellie x 😊
      Ellie Thompson says:

      Ah! I can now see that both of my comments have been published. I couldn’t see the first one when I typed the second. Sorry about that. Xx 🌞💞

      Reply

    2. Hi Ellie! I am so glad you like the article! Some mornings when I’m looking for material, I browse among a collection of sites that are either rich or quirky. The New York Times often offers gems like this Mango Man story. I used to go to great lengths finding and crediting photos from flickr’s Creative Commons material, but when I switched over to WP last year, I was delighted to learns about the Pexels photos which are provided with the service. They are all properly sized and can be used freely, so I tend to limit myself to these.

      Reply
      1. Ellie Carpenter – United Kingdom – Writing my memoirs, musings, a little fiction and a lot of poetry as a way of exploring and making the most of my life ... ... Having had a break from writing my blog for more than three years, I decided to return to write my memoirs, some day-to-day observations, views and feelings. My passion is non-fiction poetry. I have a disability and use an electric powerchair called Alfie and let nothing get in the way of living life to the full. I believe that you can never do a kindness too soon and should give credit where credit is due. A smile or a kind word could make the difference between a good or bad day for a person - we never know what's going on for another soul. Those little things, perhaps, practised daily like a mantra, could mean so much to someone else. Thank you for visiting my blog and reading a little more about me. Please, make yourself at home here. You are very welcome. Ellie x 😊
        Ellie Thompson says:

        That’s really interesting, Stacey. I didn’t know that Pexels came as part of the WordPress package. Mind you, I only have the basic one, so perhaps, it’s not provided with that. I do use Pexels and other free image sites (Pixabay and Unsplash), although I do credit the picture to them if possible. You must be very dedicated to search out these articles which inspire you write so beautifully. Xx

  4. Ellie Carpenter – United Kingdom – Writing my memoirs, musings, a little fiction and a lot of poetry as a way of exploring and making the most of my life ... ... Having had a break from writing my blog for more than three years, I decided to return to write my memoirs, some day-to-day observations, views and feelings. My passion is non-fiction poetry. I have a disability and use an electric powerchair called Alfie and let nothing get in the way of living life to the full. I believe that you can never do a kindness too soon and should give credit where credit is due. A smile or a kind word could make the difference between a good or bad day for a person - we never know what's going on for another soul. Those little things, perhaps, practised daily like a mantra, could mean so much to someone else. Thank you for visiting my blog and reading a little more about me. Please, make yourself at home here. You are very welcome. Ellie x 😊
    Ellie Thompson says:

    Hi Stacey. I just posted a comment on this fascinating piece and said, amongst other things, how amazing this tree is. I also asked where you find such interesting articles and photos on which you often base your excellent writing. I don’t know whether you got my comment, so I thought I’d repost some of it. Sorry if you didn’t get the first one. Xx 🌞

    Reply

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