AILANTHUS
by Jonathan Marin

Ailanthus is the tree species colloquially known here in New York City as the "tenement palm." The City plants thousands of nursery-raised trees every year, largely to replace trees they planted just a few years before. Many of these carefully planted and cared-for species never seem to get past the "outdoor house-plant" stage. Ailanthus, however, just sprout up naturally, often where a tree is least wanted. Unless someone cuts them down, they mature into damn fine trees. Please take a moment and think about the Ailanthus.

No-one plans it.
No-one plants it.
No-one waters,
Or prunes,
Or sprays it,
Or gives it plant food or weed killer or even manure.
It squeezes between tall buildings,
Through sidewalk gratings,
And through cracks in the concrete,
And in angles of fences where mowers can't reach it.

It survives
Unassisted, and thrives.
It stands up to road salt,
And car fumes,
And dog piss,
And the hardened indifference of big-city life.
Only let it be:
And it will sink deep roots,
And form stout branches,
And cast a shade as good as that of any planted tree.

The Ailanthus is all unwanted children
And the adults they become.
It's those who got adopted
And those who never did.
It's those who learn their origins
And those who never will.

It's the kids who glut the System
And call it Home:
In nurseries,
In orphanages,
In foster homes,
Waiting for chance to graft them onto someone's family tree.

The Ailanthus,
Laughing at rejection,
Sings out:
"I was born a bastard,
What's your excuse?",
Then turns its leaves to the sun,
And grows.

Please take a moment and think about the Ailanthus.

(Ailanthus was introduced to the United States from China in 1784 for use as an ornamental. Ailanthus means "reaching to heaven," and altissima refers to "the tallest one." Ailanthus altissima, immortalized in the book "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn," a story about a young girl inspired to go on despite a difficult life after observing the tenacity of Ailanthus growing through cracks in the sidewalk. AILANTHUS, or Tree-of-heaven bears male and female flowers on separate trees, with some flowers occasionally bisexual.)

Jonathan Marin is a Brooklyn Bastard and the author of several adoption-related classics, many of which you can enjoy from his website at http://users.rcn.com/jonmarin/. You can find a beautiful graphic version of "Ailanthus" and other adoptee poems at the Voices of Adoption website at www.ibar.com/voices/poetry/adoptees/

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(This feature appeared in the Winter 2001 issue of the Bastard Quarterly.)

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