Giant Redwoods
By marandina
- 2583 reads
Audio version at https://soundcloud.com/user-62051685/giant-redwoods-mp3
Shafts of silver light cascade at twilight,
a canopy bordering an evening sky revealed,
constellations look down on mighty bows,
Heaven-bound from a green canvass below.
From the slopes of the seared Sierra Nevada
to clusters of conifers in Wiltshire wilds,
standing, soaring, branches reach for infinity,
elemental sentries standing guard as epochs pass.
Millennia melt into our intertwining past,
history recorded in etched, concentric rings,
winds blow quietly as autumn leaves rustle,
towering trees watching, no judgement passed.
Of crumbling bark flaking and roots of ages,
where spotted owls perch and raccoons call home.
Giant Redwoods spawning seeds of sequoia
with uncounted numbers of hushed tales to tell.
Time waits for no man, nor flora or fauna,
numbers dwindle as Earth’s climate changes,
a fragile fate rests in future, erudite hands,
silent observers chronicling an unwritten demise.
https://twitter.com/BeeRummie/status/1434856287687352323 link to a short video I took of Giant Redwoods in Wiltshire
https://www.savetheredwoods.org/about-us/faqs/the-threats-to-the-redwoods/
Image free to use at https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A014,_Sequoia_National_Park,_Cal...
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Comments
Hi Paul,
Hi Paul,
I listened to you reading this poem and thought how accomplished you were at talking. You should be a narrator for some nature programme, I think you'd excel, because you have just the right tone.
Your poem brings to mind how fragile nature is, and even though redwoods appear big and strong, even they can succumb to disease.
You have a poem of wonder and sadness. I hope the spotted owl continues to flourish, they are so wise and beautiful birds.
I shall ponder on this one Paul, it's very inspiring.
Jenny.
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I like the 'history recorded
I like the 'history recorded in etched, concentric rings'
Magnificent trees, and like the mountains, they speak of strength and stability in our fragile present world.Though they too will pass, it is good to try to take heed to preserve more where we can.
In fact the variey of types of tree and their different beauties can give rise to many metaphors! Rhiannon
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Hi,
Hi,
This gave me an overwhelming sense of serenity, in the face of these giant redwoods, sadly endangered. I think they were featured in 'Vertigo', do you recall?
hilary
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Beautifully done (both
Beautifully done (both versions) - thank you!
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time waits for no man, indeed
time waits for no man, indeed. Flora and fauna they are a diffrent beast.
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You have caught the
You have caught the stateliness I imagine they must have, almost as if they are outside the every day problems of life, being so old, yet they are so close to suffering the fate of so many other trees. "silent observers" "no judgement passed" "sentries" really illustrates how they can do nothing to help themselves survive the changes we have set in motion. It must have been so traumatic for firefighters who could only wrap fractions of trunk in foil blankets as the fires drew nearer
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Your Ode to these magnificent
Your Ode to these magnificent giants is heartfelt and knowing that their fate is tentative, hanging in the fickle winds of wild fires burning in California, it is also gut wrenching. Your words are a testament to their longevity on this earth and our collective foolishness.
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Wow Paul, that was a treat to
Wow Paul, that was a treat to be able to listen to it as I read it. I have always felt poetry was best listened to rather than merely read. Quite the effect. That was very good. Congratulations on the cherries.
GGHades502
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