Talisay: Tree of Death and Rebirth

The talisay is the "signature autumn tree" in the tropics, which reminds us of autumn in the temperate countries. 

Photos and Verse by Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Blog

Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio

738 DZRB AM, 8-9 evening class Monday to Friday

Talisay or Umbrella Tree (Terminalia catappa) loses its entire crown during the amihan (cold months). The cooler the wind coming from Siberia, the redder the leaves become before falling off the tree.

I wait for a gust of wind
to shake you up and make you
a skeleton in the blue sky;
your nakedness is also mine
in the passage of time.
One by one your noble death
is proclaimed, each leaf a page,
falling in peace and dignity;
dying to tell the world the story
of the greatest mystery. ~