What do they really reach for,
these trees.
In winter I see them upside down.
Bare twigs spread, like exposed roots,
or lightening to the sky,
casting nets
in hungry grabs.
We know
less than we know.
They hold the earth together
and commune in its dark.
Rings record our passage
not theirs.
Our knowledge still humbles
beneath them.
Welcome to The Tangled Branch! Join us.
Trees
Re: Trees
Hi Colm
I really like this on the whole. You do seem to dispense with the beautiful and humble question mark these days, which is odd. The two stanzas concerning what humans know in relation to the trees I personally would leave out as they alter the focus of the poem in a way that detracts from all you are saying about trees and become rather telly. Besides, the rest of the poem says it all more subtly.
Thanks for the poem. Love trees.
I really like this on the whole. You do seem to dispense with the beautiful and humble question mark these days, which is odd. The two stanzas concerning what humans know in relation to the trees I personally would leave out as they alter the focus of the poem in a way that detracts from all you are saying about trees and become rather telly. Besides, the rest of the poem says it all more subtly.
Thanks for the poem. Love trees.
Re: Trees
In winter I see them upside down.
Bare twigs spread, like exposed roots,
or lightening to the sky,
There are some patterns repeated in nature that have little to do with one another, tree branches and certain kinds of lightening for instance. And then there's the upside down tree in its root structure. Makes me think of the renditions of the tree of life with roots that form a circle. But here is a for real image that's stunning:
[font]https://www.thekalalochlodge.com/explor ... ee-of-life
As a fellow tree hugger, I enjoyed this poem.[/font]
Bare twigs spread, like exposed roots,
or lightening to the sky,
There are some patterns repeated in nature that have little to do with one another, tree branches and certain kinds of lightening for instance. And then there's the upside down tree in its root structure. Makes me think of the renditions of the tree of life with roots that form a circle. But here is a for real image that's stunning:
[font]https://www.thekalalochlodge.com/explor ... ee-of-life
As a fellow tree hugger, I enjoyed this poem.[/font]
Re: Trees
Fab and sad tree Linda.
Nothing specifically magical here I'm afraid. Erosion will eventually dislodge it. But in the meantime it is stable for three reasons.
It has a very low centre of gravity; most of its weight is very low down so it would take more than a storm to fell it.
The poor thing is wedged solid between the two banks; its weight and the strength of its limbs hold it fast.
It still has lots of thin roots to feed the canopy...and they add more stability.
I'm sure you've tried to pull plants from the soil. If the root system has a wide spread, even if they aren't thick roots, its bloody hard to remove them. And relatively speaking, you'd be more powerful than a hurricane.
You gotta love trees...they're all magical
Nothing specifically magical here I'm afraid. Erosion will eventually dislodge it. But in the meantime it is stable for three reasons.
It has a very low centre of gravity; most of its weight is very low down so it would take more than a storm to fell it.
The poor thing is wedged solid between the two banks; its weight and the strength of its limbs hold it fast.
It still has lots of thin roots to feed the canopy...and they add more stability.
I'm sure you've tried to pull plants from the soil. If the root system has a wide spread, even if they aren't thick roots, its bloody hard to remove them. And relatively speaking, you'd be more powerful than a hurricane.
You gotta love trees...they're all magical