How do the last three lines of second stanza of the poem ‘The Heart of the Tree’ explain the process of regeneration?
Or, How does the man plant the forest’s heritage?
Or, In what sense is a tree “the harvest of a coming age”?
Or, How is tree related to future generations?
He plants the forest’s heritage;
The harvest of a coming age;
The joy that unborn eyes shall see —
The three lines quoted above talk about the future prospect of planting a tree. This is how a tree can help in the process of regeneration.
We are cutting trees at random for the reckless development and urbanisation. But if we plant a tree now, it will give birth to many other trees over time and finally create a forest. This is how the man who plants a tree now plants a forest’s heritage.
Again, without trees there will be a definite scarcity of food in future. Trees help in bringing rain and prevent fertile lands from desertification. This is how we can continue cultivating lands and reaping the harvest. So, planting a tree is synonymous to planting the harvest for the future generations.
Again, the ethereal joy in seeing the aesthetic beauty of a green world full of birds and animals with no pollution is something to cherish for the future generations. So, in the three lines above, the poet’s concern is to ensure a habitable world for the coming time. And, trees can help us make that happen for sure.
The Planter plants the forests heritage because a tree may turn into a forest someday and therefore by planting tree the man plants the forests heritage and these forests would give fruits to coming generations and they would be delighted seeing that.