for years he hoisted heavy pails
along a stony little path where
scrub oaks crowd and brambles tug
at every inch of skin and cloth to
where an inkling hope took root
amid an undergrowth of doubt
for years he struggled up this path
to quench those lightly hidden roots
clearing weeds that else would choke
the life from every oval leaf
until devoid of nutrient his
budding purpose dried away
for years he watched the sapling rise
branching slowly toward the skies
growing broader week by month
dreaming deep through rock and soil
until at last she drank the waters
pressed beneath the sleeping earth
until at last she blossomed forth
throughout her overarching crown
pastel blooms of every kind
a potpourri of fragrant hues
that drew the pollinating bee
from fields two dozen miles off
he watched the flowers go to seed
swelling in their quiet hearts
into a myriad of shapes
poignant fruit of every kind
from grapes to berries pears to figs
hanging to the topmost twig
he saw and marveled at the sight
and half afraid he merely dreamed
this miracle of cultivation
stood beneath a low-hung bough
reached and plucked one ripe idea
and nursed the tangs of inspiration
Author notes
Published in University of Washington's 2009 edition of Clamor.
In a list
Thoughts, Feelings, Interpretations, Experience:
Comments
1 - 16 of 16
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U capture someones imagination well!
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Well, sometimes. But yes this poem I agree does a decent job of it.
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You know what? I thought I have commented on this before, my memory was very clear to me that I had said something like a seed of inspiration can always grow a tree of cornucopia. But it must be one of those days that bitter gourd was getting the better of me. You know.
Anyway, this reminds me of the movie The Man Who Planted Trees, which aptly is also known as The Man Who Planted Hope and Reaped Happiness. (Remember that movie? See, I wasn't sleeping then
) This piece is as inspirational as that work of art (both the story and the movie).
This should be read by more people. I'm sure they will connect with this just like I did.
And of course, I meant that tree of cornucopia. You still have that in your garden, trust me. Of course, you just always have to trust YOU, too.
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I think you emailed it. I'm in my Ubuntu partition right now, so I'm not able to check. It's neat that this reminded you of The Man Who Planted Trees. I'm glad you were able to enjoy that movie with me, and that you remember it.
"Tree of cornucopia". I suppose this is what an inkling hope--the dream of our soul--can become, if we nurture it long enough. Sometimes I think I see it, just that, standing before me, as if I've already realized my deepest hopes--other times it seems still like the struggling sapling that I've worked so long and hard just to keep alive.
Wonder why?
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Erin
Have you been "pruning " this, or is my memory on the
fritz again?LOL
Still like it!
John -
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I might have tweaked a few minor adjustments. I recall you read and commented right after I posted it, and I almost always tweak little revisions within the first week or so of posting a poem.
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INSPIRED BY NATURE...!!!
U HAVE OBSERVED THINGS VERY CLOSELY TO HAVE WRITTEN SUCH A WONDERFUL POEM...
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Glad you liked.
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Inspirational!
I also thought that this was going to be a rhyming poem, I am not in the least bit disappointed. I find it odd that you write about inspiration, when you as a poet, have been such a divine one to me. Whenever I need inspiration I read your works. Whether it be for a poem, daily life or to just wake up in the morning.
he watched the flowers go to seed
swelling in their quiet hearts
into a myriad of shapes
poignant fruit of every kind
from grapes to berries pears to figs
hanging to the topmost twig
My favorite stanza, I picture someone so proud looking up in awe at something that they never thought that they could create!! Wonderful job!
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Ah it's nice to hear that I've been an inspiration to you. Thank you for that. A poet wants little more than to inspire the hearts, minds, and lives of others! So with your statement you realize much of my aspirations as a poet.
I hope that through the course of my existence and the process of my literary development that I will come to inspire many many more. As Robert Service, Tennyson, Keats, Campbell, Dorr, and many others have inspired me.
Thank you for being one of my most loyal readers. I know the recent years have been hard for you.
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Superb
Ah, I like it exactly has you have written it. Excellent imagery. Thanks for sharing this one with us. -
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Glad you liked, Brandy.
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I love the last verse. Some things we write, or create, are the result of a long struggle to see daylight. This poem is an incredible example of this process.
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Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed this effort. Yes this was kind of fun to write. Took forever to reach fruition, sitting there on my screen every time I started my computer for months. lol
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Erin
Wish I had a tree like that. That is what I call "collective
gardening"!
Nice poem! The first few verses did not make too many demands of the reader, but to ready him for the last few.
I read the poem ,twice, and the last three verses three times. One could pick your entire lunch from a single tree!
Nice poem!
One bone to pick though! The lines...
"...for years he watched the sapling rise
branching slowly toward the skies"...
...were the sampling lines given in "New by favorites".
I said to myself, "Erin is doing a rhyming poem, I've got to see this." But when I opened it up, it was free verse.LOL
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That would be a cool tree wouldn't it. Ah yes I kind of intentionally lead people in with that one rhyming couplet. It's fun to show people the potential of metered poetry that uses devices other than rhyme, and in not necessarily a fixed scheme.
Glad you enjoyed this effort, John. Always a pleasure to read your thoughts.
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