Wind like snow and rain
Descends upon the pines,
Threshing them
Free of sunshine
Or so it seems:
At my feet lay the yellow needles
That mark the end of a season
The end of too much heat
The end of stillness
And there are pine cones
Everywhere to say
Earth and air and light
Will make of their dreams
A tree.
In this strange mating,
In the shape of this tree
That has learned to yield
To every pressure
Yet to grow straight
Death is a fragrant,
Liquid definition
Of forever.
38 Comments
like your poem, lots of interesting images and thoughts intermingled...as seasons change.
ReplyDeleteImpressive Sandy.
ReplyDeleteDescending to another time...
Have a great week ahead.
Regina
This is so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYou always amaze me with the connections that you make. Yielding to every pressure yet remaining straight — I want to remember that line for when things are tough.
ReplyDeletei can see that tree in my mind's eye. in the midst of glorious autumn swaying, yielding yet remains standing after the howling of the wind...
ReplyDeleteDeath is a fragrant,
ReplyDeleteLiquid definition
Of forever
is just so good ..
a lovely poem ..
Death is a fragrant,
ReplyDeleteLiquid definition
Of forever
These two lines speak volumes...the whole poem is so beautiful! Deep and lovely.
Changing seasons, seeds growing and giving life. The pressures of life as we grow. Many images in this writing I enjoyed very much, especially the last three lines. Thank you for this.
ReplyDeleteAmazing that the pine tree stands straight inspite of yielding to the pressures of seasons. Loved the way you put forth the thought.
ReplyDeleteAnother Amazing Poem! The last 8 lines are so powerful! I think that is one of your best works yet!
ReplyDeleteWell done My dear Friend!
Again, I am taken with your way with words .. its as impressive as your way with pictures
ReplyDeleteI love your words... Thank you.
ReplyDeleteSuch a positive, beautiful outlook....i love it
ReplyDelete"Death is a fragrant,
ReplyDeleteLiquid definition
Of forever."
what a beautiful promise you bring here!!
Great poem - especially at the end.
ReplyDeleteSandy,
ReplyDeletethis poem is wonderful. I so enjoy this line:
Earth and air and light
Will make of their dreams
A tree.
Then there was the glorious end:
Death is a fragrant,
Liquid definition
Of forever.
I like the changes in nature as well as in mankind...we all go through seasons.
ReplyDeleteWow, your ending is amazing!
ReplyDeleteAn end I was not expecting, but then of course. I can see all those cones on the ground -- scattered.
ReplyDeleteSo lovely!
ReplyDeleteThe ending was so very unexpected but really completed the poem. Nice :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. With new beginnings comes the promise of new life!
ReplyDeleteSandy, I had to read this one from the bottom up … words are so tricky, and one must be careful at what they think they are reading. Death does have a “fragrant”, fresh cut roses have a wonderful aroma, but in the end, liquid or not, death stinks.
ReplyDeleteYour poems, at times, are very puzzling, and I dare say, I enjoy reading them to see if I can see me. But to be honest I have never pictured the wind as “descending” unless it was wrapped up in a tornado. So I had to adjust my visualization of what you presented, and hung tight onto the metaphor.
The idea of relating the “summer stillness” with the coming of winter and its stillness, made me smile. In the end, after reading this up and down, I have to concur, nothing is as it seems, because pine trees are evergreen, and all of them don’t stand tall, some of them bend and others fall, “or so it seems”.
your words offer a very sensory experience...they make me consider the removal of life's debris (descent) in the final ascent to the next...
ReplyDeleteDear Sandy--
ReplyDeleteThis is such a pilgrimage you've taken us on.
Lovely words and thoughtfulness supporting them, as ever.
What a journey! This poem is supple and strong.
ReplyDeleteI like so much this poem, Sandy. It's very intense and expressive.
ReplyDeleteI almost missed your lovely poem when I was so busy yesterday!
ReplyDeleteIt would be very nice together with the pine cones I took a photo of recently and that will appear on my blog shortly. . .
those last 3 lines particularly rock in the context of trees. surprising yet fitting.
ReplyDeleteAh verse very evocative...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful lyric!
Thanks!
This poem makes me miss our pine trees even more, if that is possile, since they succumbed to the pine bark beetle and tornadic winds. Sigh~~
ReplyDeleteYellow needles are flying off the tree in the back yard as I write this. There is also a nuthatch looking for the suet on the tree trunk. The end of the growing season, and the beginning of the feeding season.
ReplyDeleteMakes me want to walk in the pines above my house-nice.
ReplyDeletehttp://peerpressurized.blogspot.com/2009/08/gotcha-babble.html
ReplyDeletehi sandy,
on the aforesaid webpage / blog post i have linked one of ur poem (s) / osi posts , or quoted excerpts therefrom , ( without prior consent ).i hope u don't mind .. / in case u do , please drop a cmnt there ..( is this a clever attempt at promoting the said page? - i believe not )
warm regards ,
Oooo- I loved the last 3 lines- very creatively put. We had a huge wind storm last night and lots of needles, pine cones, and leaves were dropped- I can surely relate. Have a good rest of the week~
ReplyDeletelovely!
ReplyDeleteThose pine trees are tough. They go with the flow yet stand tall.
ReplyDeleteAll so good, yet a little pine bark beatle will take them down.
A stinky death rot then comes with their demise.
..
The passing of a season, always bittersweet. Eloquently captured as always Sandy.
ReplyDeleteThanks for being here.