Poem Analysis: Growth Rings by Deng Hainan

 GROWTH RINGS
Deng Hainan

The arc lines
Grow in layers imprisoned within the bark,
With a seed at the circle’s center,
Rings spreading like ripples across the lake.

In the end, they are set hard by the chainsaw's incision.
No sighing, no growing,
Silence.
Yet annulations have not been erased.
Like a cerebrum,
Everything that has been experienced has been stored in these whorls
Though they can neither sing nor tell tales.

The rain’s moisture,
The snow’s caress,
The chirping from the bird’s nest in the branches
The roar of the thunder and lightning overhead,
The black bear’s embrace,
The woodpecker’s kiss.

And more,
Much more…
Memories like air
Melodies like spring,
But there is only
Silence.

As the glade rotates,
It spins the record around
If only there were a needle
Which by tracking the grooves
Could excavate, resuscitate
The song of life that should not be silent.

About the Author
Deng Hainan was born in Guang'an Sichuan province, China, on August 22, 1904. Died on Feb. 19, 1997, in Beijing. Chinese Communist official, China's most influential figure from the late 1970s to his death. In the 1950s, he became Deputy Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China and Secretary-General of the Communist Party of China (CCP). He fell out of favor during the Cultural Revolution but was rehabilitated in 1973 under the support of Zhou Enlai. While he was seen as a possible successor to Zhou as premier, Deng was again ousted, this time by the Gang of Four, when Zhou died in 1976. However, Mao Zedong died later that year, and the Gang of Four was arrested in the subsequent political struggle; Deng was rehabilitated for the second time. His protgs Zhao Ziyang and Hu Yaobang became prime ministers and general secretary of the CCP, respectively. Both supported Deng's far-reaching reform program, which added free-entrepreneurship elements to the economy.


About the Poem
The poem is all about the importance of trees in our lives. It also compares the person's cerebrum and the tree's growth rings. Both store thoughts and memories but in different ways. The cerebrum functions as the center of thought and memories in humans while growth rings help to know what things happen in its certain place.

Analyzing the Poem

The poem uses a comparison called a simile. A simile is a figure of speech comparing two, unlike things that are frequently introduced by the like or the like. Here are the example lines:

Rings spreading like ripples across the lake...

Memories like air
Melodies like spring,

What does the speaker in the poem called the circular lines in the cross-section of the tree trunk? Is the description appropriate? Why or why not?

The speaker in the poem called the circular lines in the cross-section of the tree trunk arc lines. The description is appropriate as it is described as "rings spreading like ripples across the lake". If you see the circular lines in the cross-section of the tree trunk they do look like ripples of water.

What idea expressed in the second stanza is a contrast to that expressed in the third stanza?
According to the second stanza, everything that has been experienced has been stored in those rings and can't sing nor tell tales but, the thing is in the third stanza you would notice that the rings tell tales about their own experience. The second stanza tells that it can't tell stories but in the third stanza it just said the stories about the tree's experiences.

What experiences are stored in the whorl of the tree, according to the poem? Do you agree? Why or Why not?
The experiences are along these lines:

The rain’s moisture,

The snow’s caress,

The chirping from the bird’s nest in the branches

The roar of the thunder and lightning overhead,

The black bear’s embrace,

The woodpecker’s kiss.

Yes, I agree. The growth rings, which are described there as rings spreading like ripples in the cross-section of the tree, are depicted every year. If the tree had a good year because it had a lot of water and light, it would grow a lot and the ring would be thick. If the tree had a bad year like little water/light, it grows little or no, and the ring is small.

Why are the experiences stored in the whorl like those stored in a person's cerebrum?
The experiences stored in the whorl are like those stored in a person's cerebrum because if you would just try to search about a person's cerebrum and growth rings of the tree, they do have the same thing when it comes to storing experiences. Cerebrum functions as the center of sensory perception, memory, thoughts, and judgment the same thing with growth rings. These rings will tell us how old the tree is, and what the weather was like every year of the tree's life. The light-colored rings depict the wood that grew in spring and early summer, while the dark rings depict the wood that grew in late summer and fall.

What regret is expressed in the last stanza? Is it possible to reverse the situation? Why or why not?

The regret of cutting down these trees. It is not possible to reverse the situation in the last part because we can't bring back the tree that is already been cut down and become paper or whatsoever. But, we can replace them by planting new ones.

How can we minimize the cutting down of trees?
First, go paperless. We are in modern times now, we can just email things instead of sending letters. We can do transactions online. If this step can't help then plant the new trees before cutting the others. Let it grow tall first before cutting down some. Second, recycle. Recycle things. Last, be innovative. There is someone who invented paper out of an elephant's poop.

Why should we make an effort to save our trees? 

Well, trees help us when it comes to converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. Trees also give us food like fruits. In short, these creatures help us to survive here on Earth.

SOURCES:

https://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_definition_for_tree_growth_rings
https://www.facebook.com/notes/ranz-co/growth-rings-by-deng-hainan/770299736320498/

https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2540/tree-rings-provide-snapshots-of-earths-past-climate/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerebrum