The palmyra palm is revered by the Tamil people of Sri Lanka, where it is known as a celestial tree, a symbol of fertility, every part of which can be used. In Vidyan Ravinthiran's “The Burnt Palmyra,” one of these trees speaks. Although it has been “burnt,” the tree has survived the savage violence of the Sri Lankan civil war, unlike all “the other ruined trees” along the road where it stands, which were cut down so that their “charred and telltale” condition would not call the world's attention to manifold war crimes.
Unaccountably, this tree is left to bear witness. It has
