Funeral of a Tree
7th March 2020
I spent ages under that tree, since I was a kid. Days and nights. It provided shelter from bad weather and shade from the burning sun. Scientifically known as Robinia Pseudoacacia, affectionately called “grande Quercia”(the great Oak), it was around a century old.
This plant creature was cut down on 7th March 2020, just one day before the covid19 lockdown started in Italy. During that day, the sky kept frantically changing its shape and colours. It rained, sunbeams pierced the clouds, it hailed, and there were two rainbows. I was there alone, devoid of the usual shelter, to say goodbye to a stable companion of my last 20 years. Later on, many others came: a big fire was lit to greet the shared memory of the old Oak.