“I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.”
– Joyce Kilmer
Inimitable Trees
What more could you or
I
(or anyone) ever hope to add, do you think,
to the amazing, miraculous, natural grandeur that
inhabits, resides, abides in any (every) solitary tree? I
know (with certainty) my paltry poetic vocabulary shall
ever fail to conjure an inkling of such unequaled, never
to be replicated perfection. One need only listen, breathe and see
in order to embrace the mystery, music, magic and majesty of
a
single towering redwood or oak. Close your eyes and know the
poem
has already been written in wood across the sky – those lovely
noble limbs in silver snow, autumn glory, or graceful green –
as
holy as any sacred sanctuary, welcoming as home, gracious as a
friend. Couldn’t we (shouldn’t we?) all aspire to be a tree?
PSC /2016
This poem was written in response to a prompt from De
Jackson over at dVerse Poets Pub. The assignment is a new (to me) poetic form called ‘the golden
shovel’.
(It was a lot tougher than it looks. I dare you to try it!)
Hop over to the site to find out more about the form and to read more 'golden shovel' poetry:
dversepoets.com - The golden shovel form
From there, you can jump over to other poets sites to read
their ‘golden shovel’ poems.
NOTE: I chose the first 2 lines from Joyce Kilmer’s poem “Trees”
You can read Kilmer's entire poem here: poets.org - Joyce Kilmer - Trees
Oh, Pamela! I LOVE this!!! I love how you've used the original line as a spine for the rest of the poem.
ReplyDeleteSo much love for this:
the poem
has already been written in wood across the sky
!!!
Will you please leave your link in the comments section on the original post? I don't know how to link up anyone after Mr. Linky expires, but I do know that if you visit others, they just might go searching in the comments to see if you've left a belated link. :)
Awww, THANKS, De! Your sweet words made my day! :) Struggled with this form for quite a while trying to make it work. Left a link, and will go back to read & comment. Thanks for the challenge. It got me off my poetic duff, anyway. ;)
DeleteThis is wonderful, almost as lovely as a tree. ;)
ReplyDeleteTHANK you, Linda! What better compliment could there be than that?? :)
DeleteAbsolutely wonderful! I have always aspired to be a tree. Thank you for the smiles and wonder. :-)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sara! So glad you stopped by for this one -- and glad you enjoyed it. Let's keep aspiring. ;)
DeleteThis is excellent! So glad you tried this prompt, and really you did an exemplary golden shovel poem! You characterized trees so very artistically.
ReplyDeleteOh -- thank you, Mary! This was a tough one, I think, but so many folks really handled it beautifully! :)
DeleteHow very stunning--the photos and poems treat of one of the most awe-inspiring things in creation. I love how so many of us who write poetry also turn to photography.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Victoria! I agree -- I think we use photography as an extension and/or inspiration for our poetry. Sometimes, a picture's worth MORE than a thousand words. ;)
Delete