I Am a Tree: A Monologue on Tropical Ecotourism

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.25.1.2026.4241

Keywords:

tropical ecotourism, tropical rainforest, Kahyangan cosmology, ecocritical poetry, ecospiritual poetry, capitalist tourism, lyrical monologue

Abstract

This ecospiritual poem is a lyrical monologue from the perspective of a tropical tree within the landscape of rainforest ecotourism, symbolizing resistance against the commodification of nature and the expansion of capitalist tourism. Through a contemplative voice, it exposes the paradox between the promotion of “natural” destinations and the silent destruction of ecosystems beneath their surface. Framing an ecocritical and spiritual narrative rooted in the ancient Javanese–Balinese cosmology of Kahyangan, a sacred realm where divinity and nature coexist, the poem presents a decolonial critique of how the tropical environment is aestheticized and marketed. Imagery such as “a saw that doesn’t know poetry” and “breath piercing the sky” serve as metaphors of both ecological devastation and hope. This piece functions as an ecological prayer, a quiet resistance from the rainforest’s forgotten voices amidst the machinery of global capitalism.

Author Biography

Reddy Anggara, Universitas Singaperbangsa Karawang, West Java, Indonesia

Reddy Anggara is an academic and researcher in the field of communication. He completed his bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees at the Faculty of Communication Sciences, Padjadjaran University, Bandung. Since 2011, Reddy has been listed as a permanent lecturer at the Universitas Singaperbangsa Karawang. In addition, he is trusted as a part-time lecturer at several universities in Jakarta, such as Mercu Buana University Jakarta and Dian Nusantara University. 2011-2012 he actively conducted research with the CAPAS UNPAD (Center for Agrifood Policy and Agribusiness Studies, Padjadjaran University). Reddy is interested in the research themes of communication, development communication, marketing communication, and environmental communication.

References

Benitez, C. J. R., & Lundberg, A. (2022). Tropical Materialisms: Toward Decolonial Poetics, Practices and Possibilities. eTropic: electronic journal of studies in the Tropics, 21(2), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.21.2.2022.3929 DOI: https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.21.2.2022.3929

Buell, L. (2005). The future of environmental criticism: Environmental crisis and literary imagination. Blackwell Pub.

Nixon, R. (2011). Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor. Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.4159/harvard.9780674061194 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt2jbsgw

Pezzullo, P. C., & Cox, R. (2017). Environmental Communication and the Public Sphere. SAGE Publications.

West, P., & Carrier, J. G. (2004). Ecotourism and Authenticity: Getting Away from It All? Current Anthropology, 45(4), 483-498. https://doi.org/10.1086/422082 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/422082

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Published

2026-03-04

How to Cite

Anggara, R. (2026). I Am a Tree: A Monologue on Tropical Ecotourism. ETropic: Electronic Journal of Studies in the Tropics, 25(1), 22–27. https://doi.org/10.25120/etropic.25.1.2026.4241

Issue

Vol. 25 No. 1 (2026): Tourisms’ Tristes Tropiques: Literary Travels

Section

Poetry

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Copyright (c) 2026 CC-BY

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