- what is it like to be a tree in a northern winter?
Written early June 2011 - (102 lines)
*
Do winter trees
Shiver and freeze
More or less like we humans do?
Their world so bleak
If they could speak
They might tell us all they have to go through
Stripped and bare
Rooted firmly there
Apparently ever patiently
In rain and snow
Their days do go
But only very reluctantly
They cannot fly
To somewhere dry
Far to the south to keep themselves warm
So must hope
That they can cope
With the most ferocious northern storm
Forced to wait
As they hibernate
Maybe moving stories are told
Of branches that grew
And leaves that were new -
Now everything is put on hold...
Do they care
For each other and share
Their memories in subtle ways?
Or have they grown
So aloof and alone
They dream only of their own glory days?
Do they reflect
On what to expect
Or are they lost in silent grief?
Do they pray
For the happy day
When again they unfold a fresh new leaf?
For nothing green
Can now be seen
Only yellow and brown and red
Strewn around
On the icy ground
Heaps of summer leaves long dead
Reminding each tree
Of what used to be
Right now the overarching concern
Is the need for light
Any hope in sight?
Maybe the sun will never return...
Do they doubt
Day in day out
And are they mourning all they lost?
Trunk and bough
Seem to whisper now:
Enough of snow and ice and frost!
Stark shadows cast
Seem to last
Forever in the cold light of the moon
When will it end?
Do they sense a trend?
Will the days grow longer anytime soon?
Having been here before
The trees know the score
But how do they know it is on track?
Somehow they assess
Or perceive that YES
The sun has turned and it is coming back!
The snow will melt
And that will be felt
Easily as the unfrozen stream floods
The trees survived
Better days arrived
Time now to think of baby buds!
And the sap will rise
To revitalise
Once more the sturdy trunk throughout
From the deepest root
To the smallest shoot
New life will emerge, spread and sprout
If every growth ring
Contains a string
Of experiences of what and when
Maybe trees cling
Without a sting
Of sadness to knowledge unknown to men -
That time will bring
Another spring
And the waiting will be over then
That birds on the wing
Will nest and sing
Replacing the winter's robin and wren -
That peasant and King
Will recklessly fling
Their heavy coats without counting to ten
And with everything
Once more in full swing
Life will be well worth living again!
Out of the trance
And if trees could dance
They probably would run around overjoyed
Or possibly they
Now solemnly pray
To thank the Creator who could have destroyed...
*
Copyright © 2011 - IBRAHEEM (O.E.H.Johansen) - All Rights Reserved
Written early June 2011 - (102 lines)
*
Do winter trees
Shiver and freeze
More or less like we humans do?
Their world so bleak
If they could speak
They might tell us all they have to go through
Stripped and bare
Rooted firmly there
Apparently ever patiently
In rain and snow
Their days do go
But only very reluctantly
They cannot fly
To somewhere dry
Far to the south to keep themselves warm
So must hope
That they can cope
With the most ferocious northern storm
Forced to wait
As they hibernate
Maybe moving stories are told
Of branches that grew
And leaves that were new -
Now everything is put on hold...
Do they care
For each other and share
Their memories in subtle ways?
Or have they grown
So aloof and alone
They dream only of their own glory days?
Do they reflect
On what to expect
Or are they lost in silent grief?
Do they pray
For the happy day
When again they unfold a fresh new leaf?
For nothing green
Can now be seen
Only yellow and brown and red
Strewn around
On the icy ground
Heaps of summer leaves long dead
Reminding each tree
Of what used to be
Right now the overarching concern
Is the need for light
Any hope in sight?
Maybe the sun will never return...
Do they doubt
Day in day out
And are they mourning all they lost?
Trunk and bough
Seem to whisper now:
Enough of snow and ice and frost!
Stark shadows cast
Seem to last
Forever in the cold light of the moon
When will it end?
Do they sense a trend?
Will the days grow longer anytime soon?
Having been here before
The trees know the score
But how do they know it is on track?
Somehow they assess
Or perceive that YES
The sun has turned and it is coming back!
The snow will melt
And that will be felt
Easily as the unfrozen stream floods
The trees survived
Better days arrived
Time now to think of baby buds!
And the sap will rise
To revitalise
Once more the sturdy trunk throughout
From the deepest root
To the smallest shoot
New life will emerge, spread and sprout
If every growth ring
Contains a string
Of experiences of what and when
Maybe trees cling
Without a sting
Of sadness to knowledge unknown to men -
That time will bring
Another spring
And the waiting will be over then
That birds on the wing
Will nest and sing
Replacing the winter's robin and wren -
That peasant and King
Will recklessly fling
Their heavy coats without counting to ten
And with everything
Once more in full swing
Life will be well worth living again!
Out of the trance
And if trees could dance
They probably would run around overjoyed
Or possibly they
Now solemnly pray
To thank the Creator who could have destroyed...
*
Copyright © 2011 - IBRAHEEM (O.E.H.Johansen) - All Rights Reserved
1 comment:
This is such a beautiful look at part of the life cycle of trees.
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