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CHRONICLES 10: A Poetic Childlike Look at the Trees of Bayreuth

by

Egara Kabaji

This poetic work, Trees of Bayreuth, is an artistic inquiry written to explain how the Narrative Transformation Model (NTM) works. I conceptualise creative writing as a systematic research process that transforms observed reality and lived experience into narrative knowledge. The poem is an allegorical dialogue between a curious Kenyan child visitor and a local Bavarian tree.

The poem transforms an empirical ecological phenomenon into a narrative. The aim is to communicate human and environmental insights. The text places Kenya's landscape alongside Germany's deciduous autumn cycles.

POEM

The Trees of Bayreuth

I have seen strange things.

The streets are all coloured with leaves.
Trees are crying out their leaves.
I asked the tree behind our house:

"Why are you stripping off all your clothes?
Don't you fear being seen naked?"

The tree answered me:

"No, we do not fear.
This is the time we strip ourselves naked.
You have not seen everything about us.
This is autumn, my friend from Kenya.
We are preparing to move into winter.
When we enter winter, we become dry, kabisa!
That is the time you may sympathise with us.
We stand still, looking dry and lonely,
As if we are dead.

"But no, do not be deceived!
We are very much alive.
Winter is only a season of rest.
We are gathering strength for what comes next.
And what comes next is spring!

"Ah, spring is a beautiful time!
The cold begins to disappear.
The snow melts away.
The sun begins to smile at us.
Tiny buds begin to appear on our branches.
They open slowly, one after another.
Soon, little green leaves begin to sprout.
Some of our friends even produce beautiful flowers!
We dress up again!
Birds return to sing in our branches.

"Then comes summer.
That is when you should see us!
Our leaves grow big and green.
We spread our branches wide.
We make beautiful umbrellas against the sun.
People sit under our shade.
Birds build their nests in our branches.
Some of us even produce fruits.
We are fully dressed and looking beautiful.

"But do not forget, my visitor,
Seasons never stay forever.
Soon, summer begins to say goodbye.

"And do you know what happens?
The days become shorter.
The air becomes colder.
Our green leaves begin to change colour.
Some turn yellow,
Others become golden, orange or red.
Then comes autumn again!

"And that is why you found us shedding our leaves.
It is not because we are sick.
It is not because we are dying."

I looked at the tree and asked:

"But why don't you behave like trees in Kenya?
Back home, trees remain green throughout the year.
They do not strip naked like you!"

The tree laughed and answered:

"My friend, the world is a big place.
Trees are not all the same.
Some trees in Germany, like our pine friends,
Keep their green needles even in winter.
They never go completely naked!
And in Kenya, many trees remain green,
Even when the rains disappear.

"That is the beauty of nature.
Different places have different seasons.
Different trees have different ways of living.
But whether we are green or naked,
We are all part of the same beautiful world."

I thanked the tree behind our house.
Now I have a story to tell my friends.

It is time for me to go back home.

END