Oak
By onemorething
- 2323 reads
For the oak, there is no remedy
for humanity; every tree speaks its history
from creation myth to the fall
of an arboreal empire,
in watery conversation held
between wind and leaf
before the amber losses
of November and the long promise
entrusted to each acorn.
It is overheard by Bechstein's bat
who feigns sleep in a cavity of bark
and the pied flycatcher who subsists
in its green temple. It tells
how once it was born from the umbilicus
of a man, or perhaps it was, itself,
the knot-branched mother
of the first person - an Adam
of an older faith, dependent
on the tilt of your perspective.
Either way, it is still a sacrifice
to be venerated; any need-fire
must burn with irony, or for a man -
the bitterness of a foliate crown
bestowed upon him as a blooded king.
I am not as strong as an oak and
nor do I envy it, though I, too,
have seen my complicity
in my own suffering. Never mind,
I say, under the strike of mistletoe,
death keeps no memories,
roots wither beneath empty boughs.
Image is from wikimedia commons: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Henry_Dawson_-_The_Major_Oak.jpg
Also on Twitter - https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brehms_Tierleben._Allgemeine_kunde_des_Tierreichs_(1911)_(19791465044).jpg
https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_Stark_-_The_Forest_Oak.jpg
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Comments
I did enjoy this.
However, I think the first line is misleading. I wonder if the sentiment would work better by 'fronting' the adverbial phrase like this "For the oak tree, there is no remedy for humanity."? This makes the focus of the poem the oak tree from the very beginning. Now, I know, of course, that this would cause ambiguity with the succeeding "it speaks to its". I do have a suggestion how to get round that. You can message me off line if you'd rather talk about it that way (or just to say bugger off in private! :-) )
In any case, this, as usual, is a very strong and vivid poem.
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Well,
I'm bound to say it's much improved, since you've done exactly what I was thinking of :-).
No, seriously, it reads exceptionally well now.
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Ah! You've written a poem
Ah! You've written a poem about the beloved oak tree, there's no tree that can top the oak as far as I'm concerned. I even named our house Oakly Villa.
They are truely ancient, mythical and inspiring. Definitely a caring tree at heart.
Me and my partner went to the Arboretum the other side of Malmsbury., We spent a good few hours walking around the fine oaks. I remember spending time hugging and getting to know the oaks. I even sat underneath one and closing my eyes tried to converse while touching the bark and speaking through my mind. That night when I went to sleep, I had the most incredible dream of rising up and down the trunks of oaks, having no control of my body, just feeling like the tree was guiding me. I only had the dream once, I'll never forget it.
It was lovely to read your poem, which bought back the memory.
Many thanks.
Jenny.
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It's always such a pleasure
It's always such a pleasure to stroll around in nature with you, Rachel. You have a way of making it more magnificent than it already is.
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Yes, exactly. Who knew nature
Yes, exactly. Who knew nature had such oak people in it?
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This version is very strong,
This version is very strong, to me. What a cry of utter despair the first line is! However, you balance this brilliantly with "the long promise entrusted to each acorn".
You and Ewan both write poems about oak trees and they are different but wonderfully memorable, just like the trees which inspire you :0)
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This is our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day
Yes, this wonderful poem is our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day. Please consider sharing or retweeting if any of you like it too!
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So pleased to see this
So pleased to see this received the golden treatment - a very good choice! They are such beautiful, dignified things - they deserve better than us.
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I wonder if it's like
I wonder if it's like planting seeds perhaps? And they plan to thin them out as they grow?
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I do hope so - what idiots!
I do hope so - what idiots!
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My brother works for a
My brother works for a council in England, something to do with environment protection. He is always livid whenever I talk to him because no one ever listens to what he recommends. They seem to think they have done the good bit commisioning his reports and then ignore them. From what he has said in the past, I think you are right, the young trees are just for show. I have heard (not from my brother) that a lot of the thousands of trees the government boasts it has planted are dying because there is no watering etc. I wish Ents were a thing, that they could stop people hurting trees, why can't we see trees are the Earth's guardians, not superheroes who blow things up
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