I am a tree,
Quite a young tree
but badly placed in the garden.
On sunny days,
I get little warmth,
and my sap begins to harden.
On frosty days,
I fight for my life,
only my roots keep me ardent.
I am a tree,
Quite a young tree
but badly placed in the garden.
Some of my branches won’t wake up,
And all I can feel is pain,
ice digs deeper into my soul,
as I hold my breath for rain.
The freezing cold and awful silence,
This is my winter of death,
If only I’d been better placed,
I’d have ages of life in me left.
Just as I think I can take no more,
the Master Gardener comes,
With hefty knives he chops and hacks,
and prunes and cuts and strips me back.
And through the darkness,
The time of not knowing,
new sap secretly flows.
It’s spring! There’s hope,
two lovers elope
And I’m their makeshift home.
Leaves, buds, blossoms and fruit,
the warmth of summer brings.
Without Him I’d be torn from my root,
A tree,
quite a young tree,
but badly placed in the garden.
Comments
oldpesky | February 10, 2012 - 14:02
Good afternoon, richard. I don't know whether to take this one at face value or look for hidden meaning it. The capital H in Him has me thinking of Him upstairs. No, not FTSE, the higher power fella. Anyway, I enjoyed the trip. I see you lot are having a hard time of it weatherwise down there at the moment while here in the far north we are experiencing unseasonal mild temperatures. I wish it was like this in the summer, but come then you'll be getting sunshine and blue skies while outside my window it'll be exactly the same as today.
Silver Spun Sand | February 10, 2012 - 14:23
Quite some 'Master Gardener' He surely is;-)
The personification of the tree, works well, and I also like the inferred simplicity in the style of the poem as a whole. And yet, simple it is anything but.
Strange...seems we were both thinking along the same lines. Great minds, and all that;-)
Much enjoyed.
Tina;-)
insertponceyfre... | February 10, 2012 - 14:28
I agree with tina - I think the tree symbolism works well, as does the simple structure - well done
Blessing | February 10, 2012 - 14:39
"... badly placed in the garden" to see how differently you grow, you thrive ... Enjoyed this blighters.
Rhiannonw | February 10, 2012 - 15:07
I appreciate the picture of unwelcome painful pruning that brings such benefit.
Rhiannon
blighters rock | February 10, 2012 - 15:09
Hi Pesky, I'll be lucky if I get a comment from FTSE on this one but one never knows.
I hear you're basking in the glory of Scottish sunshine (on about every one of your posts!) while we're skidding into ditches every four minutes down here.
Hi Tina, Glad you liked this, and very strange that we were tinkering with relative themes, perched next to each other on recently added.
Hi Insert, Thanks for your encouragement.
Hi Blessing, Again, thanks for your encouragement.
I think this is about spiritual sickness and its physical costs, but also to do with the fact that, on the whole, we're never given too much that we can't cope as long as we're willing to change.
Muchos respectos,
Richard
blighters rock | February 10, 2012 - 15:20
Thanks Rhiannonw,
No prune, no boon.
Glad you enjoyed.
All the best
Richard
skinner_jennifer | February 10, 2012 - 17:07
You took my breath away with this poignant, yet
gifted poem. Your message speaks loud and clear,
that we all need a little tender loving care,
wherever, or whoever we are.
It doesn't matter what obstacles we come up against
in life, as long as we know there's someone who
cares.
Really loved this Richard.
Jenny.
blighters rock | February 10, 2012 - 22:44
Hi Jenny, So glad you liked this. You've honed in on its desired effect and placed it in the sunshine.
Thanks for reading
Richard
scratch | February 10, 2012 - 23:07
It's about bloody time old one. Thanks for this one it's really good.
gerardineanne | February 11, 2012 - 09:15
Enjoyed very much,style,theme,rhyme.
Lovely and evocative,made me think.
blighters rock | February 11, 2012 - 10:18
Hola and good morning on this fine Saturday to you, Scratch and Geraldine.
I'm glad you enjoyed this one and a big thank you for commenting.
All the best
Richard
sid | February 20, 2012 - 11:35
I enjoyed this, don't think I've read any poetry by you before. Thought the rhyme scheme worked well, like the theme and the repetition, it reminded me of hymns we used to sing at primary school. And I could relate to the tree, and wish I had a 'master gardener.' Does this mean I should start going to church?! Thanks for the read blighter glad to see some of your older work's been reposted. Best wishes Harri