Swinging by the Arms of the Mango Tree

One afternoon I took a break from planting and walking in the forests with my teachers. I spent the day floating in rivers, warming myself on river rocks, and being shown some of the special places of kids. That was when I caught this young girl swinging by the branches of this mango tree, playing with gravity, light, and her own strength. In some communities, tree saplings and seeds are traded. This mango tree is revered to produce some of the best mangos around. I don’t imagine that it came originally from this forest area. I don’t have as much tree knowledge as I’d like, but there is something that looks a bit domesticated about this particular specimen (I’m not sure what). So, I imagine that the seeds or wildlings came into the community like so many young people -- swinging down a forest trail in someone’s bamboo harvest basket, the young world and forest a mixture of green and the occasional patch of blue sky. The basket swings with the momentum of walking and the sway of footsteps crossing cable bridges.