GOOD TIMBER
by Douglas Malloch (American poet / Lumberman’s poet)
Timber
Central Idea (Motivational Poem):
“Life grows when a person comes out of comfort zone.”
Urdu translation:
زندگی ُاس وقت پروان چڑھتی ہے جب انسان اپنے آرام دہ حصار سے نکل کر مشکالت کا
سامنا کرتا ہے۔
تنــدٔی باِد مخالف سے نہ گھبرا اے ُعقاب
یہ تو چلتی ہے تجھے اونچا ُاڑانے کے لیے
عالمہ اقبا ؒل
Comfort less
Comfort zone zone
(failure) (success)
Stanza : 01
The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
That stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king,
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
Stanza : 02
The man who never had to toil
To gain and farm his patch of soil
,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man,
But lived and died as he began.
Stanza 03
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,
In trees and men good timbers grow.
Stanza 4
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.
Words meaning
•Timber = لکڑی
•Plain = میدان
•Shade = سائ
•Scrubby = غیر اہم
•Toil = محنت کرنا
•Farm = کھیتی کرنا
•Patch = ٹکڑا
•Manly man = ( مردانہ آدمیAlliteration)
•Ease = آسانی
•Further = ُدور
•Storm = طوفان
•Strength = طاقت
•Thickest = گھنا
•Patriarchs = سرپرست
•Counsel = بات چیت کرنا
•Sun & Cold = ( گرمی اور سردیOxymoron)
•Broken branches =( ٹوٹی وئیشاخیںMetaphor)
•Scars = زخم
•Strife = لڑائی
Multiple choice question
1)The poem explain to us that good qualities always develop in ___________
a) Hardships b) Ease c) Idleness d) Illness
2)“Never became a forest king” means never __________
a) Became a lion b) Acquired a prominent position
c) Possessed courage to fight d) Enjoyed life
3)“But lived and died as he began” points out towards __________ human being.
a) A courageous b) An effortless c) A wealthy d) A successful
4)In the poem. “Good Timber”, the poet discusses themes of ___________.
a) Nature, wealth & defeat b) Power, relationship & hope
c) Nature, struggle & fulfillment d) Nature, nurture & chaos
Continue
5)The poem teaches us that the people reach their true potential by
overcoming ___________.
a) Feelings b) Enemies c) Desires d) Adversities
6)“But lived and died a scrubby thing” means lived a/an __________ life.
a) Unimportant b) High status c) Useful d) Comfortable
7)“By Sun and cold, by rain and snow” is ____________ literary device.
a) Metaphor b) Oxymoron c) Alliteration d) Simile
8)“Broken branches” in last stanza is the example of ___________.
a) Simile b) Metaphor c) Hyperbole d) None of these