Around 1983 I was at a market in Abidjan, the capital city of La Côte D'Ivoire. I was looking for Ebony wood to buy. The trader showed me an interesting piece of wood brought in from Mali, another country in West Africa. Never had I seen a log with such contrasting parts of the same wood: Sap and Core.

Early 1990s

Poem: MESSAGE OF THE TREE

We are all like trees

We have roots

And even if they’ve been cut off

New ones can grow

There are branches like the mind must bear fruit

And the seeds grow into meaningful objectives

Like leaves our archaic misconceptions must fall

And become the manure to give us the strength

To grow taller and stronger

by Ken Gwira

Originally called: "Images of my Mind" I later called it: "Message of the tree" when I wrote the poem.

2020 music inspired by the sculpture and poem.