I am a banyan tree
In a bonsai dish
People feel it’s a game
I feel it’s a shame
To grow me in a pot
Treat me like a little tot
Birds don’t linger by my side
Branches offer no roosting site
Can’t put me in a village square
Nor in a temple complex
People don’t gossip around
Squirrels don’t jump about
No shade for passers by
No shelter from heat or cold
I am just a miniature
And not the whole
Gitanjali