by Cecil Rajendra
i wrestle with a rhinoceros
but no words will come
i hear tall trees crashing
wild birds screeching
the buffalo stampeding
but no words will come
i hear sawmills buzzing
cash registers clicking
entrepreneurs yam-seng-ing
but no words will come
i hear of press conferences
of petitions, of signatures
of campaigns & lobbying
but no words will come
i hear the rain pounding
into desolate spaces
the widowed wind bowling
but no words will come
the rhino is boxed & crated
merbok & meranti are gone
above, no monkeys swing
from no overhead branches
below, a pangolin stumbles
around amputated trunks
an orphaned butterfly
surveys the wounded jungle
yes, no words can fill
this gash of malevolence
but a terrible anger squats
hugging its knees in silence
THIS WEEK’S DISCUSSION
Humans disregard nature at own risk
Give evidence of the above statement with reference to Death of a Rainforest by Cecil Rajendra.
The famous Swiss author Max Frisch once wrote, "We live technologically, with man as the master of nature, man as the engineer, and let anyone who raises his voice against it stop using bridges not built by nature...back to the jungle." In Cecil Rajendra’s "Death of a Rainforest" the reader is presented with a vivid depiction of man versus nature. In this poem, it is evident that humans tend to disregard nature at their own risk.
First, the persona is expressing the conflict between a human and an endangered species when he ( represented by the ‘ i ’) wrestles “ with a rhinoceros” indicating a struggle against a giant force which is heavy and horned. As a result of this conflict, he is faced with battles and challenges against nature. The persona refers to him/herself as the human who harms the ecosystem by means of development. Yet, he is struggling to get the authorities ( e.g. the government) to take steps to preserve the environment. He could be fighting with the rhino for territory, as in the case of humans encroaching into the habitats of animals. Nature is seen here to have met head-on by the keenness of the man to survive. As a result, the man feels as if he is the conqueror, the master of the Nature.
Man also has a conscious decision to fight and disregard nature. Nature itself does not have a conscious decision to fight the man and that is why the phrase ‘ no words can come’ have been repeated five times in this poem, signifying nature’s sense of helplessness and bitterness. It could be the repeated failure to do something to help the deteriorating environment. Also, probably the persona feels speechless upon the destruction of the forest. Most of all, he feels helpless and angry but nothing can be done. No actions or orders to stop environmental destruction or could be no reasonable excuses given by the violators of the environment.
As a result of nature's unconscious decision to fight man, the latter is making a conscious effort to make it, to reach the summit in time to ‘yamseng’ with his friends. Man is disregarding what nature thinks. Nature in its helpless state, can only fight back with ‘wild birds screeching, and `the buffalo stampeding. Cecil Rajendra uses verbs ending with ‘-ing’ ( in present continuous tense ) may indicate that the violation, destruction and suffering is still ongoing. The ‘screeching’ and ‘stampeding’ probably signify protests from the animals. Nature, in the role it plays, does not have a choice but to be fierce in trying to stop the man from reaching his goal of the `cash registers clicking’.
'cash registers clicking'
Upon all the destruction caused by man, nature is reflected as being homeless, as the latter’s habitat is totally gone, when `the rhino is boxed and crated’, ‘merbok & meranti are gone’ and ‘above, no monkeys swing’ while ` below, a pangolin stumbles round amputated trunks’. Furthermore, ‘an orphaned butterfly surveys the wounded jungle while the widowed wind howled’ metaphorically show the death of a close family member ( Mother Nature ). This makes the title of this poem ‘Death of a Rainforest’ even more appropriate. The `orphaned butterfly’ is compared to the ‘widowed wind’ showing what remain in the forest may not survive without the ‘father/husband’, namely the tree!
'below, a pangolin stumbles round amputated trunks'
surveys the wounded jungle
On the other hand, the ‘wounded jungle’ depicts a great degree of destruction of which the rainforest experiences (after it is wounded, it will soon die. No one is there to save it). Comparing the wounded jungle with the ‘amputated trunks’, this has made the forest badly injured and disabled so it will not be able to function normally.
At the end of this destruction against the forest, ` no words can fill this gash of malevolence but a terrible anger squats hugging its knees in silence ’ No words can express the extent of this ecological destruction and it is emphasized with an affirmative, ‘yes’ The persona says that humans have created a hole (gash) which cannot be covered up anymore. This hole ( in which no words can fill ) represents the problems caused by deforestation that cannot be reverted. A gash is a deep wound, thus symbolises injurious and devastating effect on nature and a gash takes a long time to heal. This gash cannot be filled by talk alone. It needs long term healing in the form of action that must be done to close the gash.
Nature has a ‘terrible anger’ which has been deliberately ignored by the authorities ( namely developers, town planners and the government ). This terrible anger also described as squatting ( for it is less noticeable compared to standing ), and it is waiting to strike. Here, Nature is waiting in silence to ‘face-off’ with man as it is ‘Hugging’ its ‘knees in silence’ is an act of brooding, personifying a traumatized and emotionally-scarred person. The former is waiting for a chance to unleash its wrath to take revenge on Man.
Another interpretation of the last stanza is that the persona is full of spirit to try save the environment but it is let down by the fact that he alone cannot change the fact that the rainforest is being destroyed. In other words, the environmentalists are ignored and left to brood over the deforestation ‘ in silence’ without being noticed and given attention. He feels helpless and is frustrated over the irony, as he has the will to do something, but is unable to do so. Here is the ‘anger’ which ‘squats hugging its knees in silence’ and thus ending the poem with a bitter tone due to the various authorities’ callousness ( lack of sympathy).
In sum, the reader is presented with a vivid depiction of man against nature in this poem, Death of a Rainforest by Cecil Rajendra. The poet examines the failures of nature to protect itself against the humans. If we humans do not tread carefully and mend our ways, nature will lash out in retaliation. When they are caught up in one of the natural disasters, they call upon their God to come down and save them. The question was asked of God, "What is man that thou are mindful of him?" Perhaps the answer should have been, "not much when you get in my way."
