In the Shade of Coco de Mer

Shipwrecked on the remote Praslin Island
somewhere in the heart of the Indian Ocean
we do what we can do just to survive here
Moral is low old lives quickly abandoned

We make our home in the Vallee de Mai
Such a lush garden has never been seen
Soil so rich that anything will grow here
The island teems with exotic animals

In forgotten England, I was a professor
In discovered paradise, I am a primate
I abandon all religion and philosophy
I
am
now
an animal at home/at one with Nature

In the shade of Coco de Mer, we live
The tree is older than we care to guess
The tree will no doubt outlast us all
The tree is generous with its secrets

The female fruit has a curvaceous shape
The male fruit boasts a phallic protrusion
Both fruits grow from the very same tree
The Tree of Life has now enchanted us all

Am I to be fertilizer for its longevity?
Am I merely passing through this valley?
Am I never to leave this tropical Eden?
Am I mad for etching this outlandish tale?

What am I to do?
Why am I here?
What is my ultimate destiny?

I can abstain no longer
I eagerly taste the fruit
For my body requires nourishment
and I have an unquenchable thirst
for knowledge