Sketches by Oliver Friggieri now in a book
On 7 March we carried a feature about a recently published book: Oliver Frig
gieri, Sketches and Poems, edited by Cardiologist Victor Grech and the proceeds for sales go to the Save and Support Trust. The book features responses by Prof. Grech himself,TV personality and blogger Lea Hogg, Prof. Arthur Lyon Dahl and Prof. Richard England. One of the main attractions of this book are the sketches by Prof. Friggieri which were discovered by Lea Hogg and published for the first time.
The book is divided into nine themes. Today we are going to look at the chapter on Trees.
At the beginning of this chapter Professor Victor Borg writes:
“In botanical terms, a tree is defined as a perennial plant with an elongated stem, a trunk, which supports branches and leaves. In trees and men good timbers grow. In biological classification terms, trees are not a taxonomic group but include a variety of plant species that have independently a trunk and branches so as to tower above other plants in order to better compete for sunlight which is a limited resource in a forest. Trees have been in existence for circa 370 million years and it is estimated that there are just over 3 trillion mature trees worldwide, with some being several thousand years old.
Trees play a significant role in reducing erosion and ameliorating the climate. They remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, store large amounts of carbon and provide habitats for many species of animals and other plants.”
“Good timber does not grow with ease, The stronger wind, the stronger trees, The further sky, the greater length, The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, by rain and snow, Where thickest lies the forest growth We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold counsel with the stars, Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife. This is the common law of life.”
Douglas Malloch Il-Bosk tar-Ruħ
Il-lejl il-bosk tar-ruħ. Fid-dlam joħorġu bil-ġuh il-bhejjem jonsbu sa ma jixbgħu. Jistenbħu l-ħsibijiet u s-skiet jinbixhom, fatat iħuf ma’ kullimkien bla jidher.
Id-dlam irid il-bosk, id-dlam il-ħajja, tixtiequ kull żerriegħa mistoħbija, trabbih f’dirgħajha tqal kull siġra xiħa, titfissed miegħu kull taqtira nida.
Ir-ruħ tistkenn fil-bosk, mara mistħija li taħbi f’dan l-istar in-nar ta’ wiċċha. L-għajnejn ma jingħalqux u l-fomm jixxennaq Fil-lejl tal-bosk ir-ruħ tishar bla tongħos.
Here is the translation by Godfrey Grima of the poem:
Night is the forest of the soul.
In darkness the hungry beasts come out to prey until well fed. Thoughts awaken and silence taunts them, a ghost wafts about unseen.
Darkness is what the forest wants, darkness, its life, desired by each hidden seed, nurtured in the laden arms of every olden tree, coddled by every dewdrop.
The soul shelters in the forest, a woman reserved, hiding in this shroud the fire in her face,
Eyes remain unshut and the mouth lingers, in the night of the forest the soul works late, sleepless.
And Professor Arthur Lyon Dahl contribution:
“An island without trees is an island drained of life. Malta was originally forested, and the forest built the soil, captured the retained water, supported a unique fauna and flora, and provided protection from storms and resources for the first island inhabitants. “The country is the world of the soul, the city is the world of bodies,” Baha’u’llah. We owe it to future generations of Maltese to make Malta green again. Restoring trees, especially species native to Malta and best adapted to its landscape, will help to protect water resources, and improve the urban environment and human health. Vegetated roofs insulate from the heat, improve air quality, provide habitat for useful insects, and contribute other essential services. Malta, with all its flat roofs, can be greened from the top down.”
And this our life, exempt from public haunt, Finds tongues in trees, books in running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.” William Shakespeare