Dr Abe V Rotor
Philippine buri palm, Corypha microclada Bess.
Buri lives to a hundred years, not anymore;
orphaned on the landscape, it can't endure
typhoons, floods, pollution, over harvesting:
its young leaves for Palm Sunday palaspas,
woven into mat and shingle, its buntal fiber
makes the finest hat for the rich and famous,
the irony of being precious, it dies young
and its species may disappear forever. ~
Buri lives to a hundred years, not anymore;
orphaned on the landscape, it can't endure
typhoons, floods, pollution, over harvesting:
its young leaves for Palm Sunday palaspas,
woven into mat and shingle, its buntal fiber
makes the finest hat for the rich and famous,
the irony of being precious, it dies young
and its species may disappear forever. ~