Nothing gives solace and sorrow exactly as pines do:
the soft swish in the cold wind
and the lonely branches, empty of wing beat
and coos during long winter months;
the restless sway of day and night between dark green rustle;
the muffled sobs of small twigs in crack
and the thud of pine cones falling in winter grass ...
Yes, the sound of stillness surrounding
a secluded homestead
can make a small child both happy and sad.
But the most disturbing is the long shadows
that fell on the graves
in the family graveyard,
arms stretched out to touch granite and yesterdays.
The trees grow taller and taller,
while memories shrink,
until the tree heads reach higher
than the mountain zenith,
that far, far blue dream to the South,
while winter becomes colder on the glen ...
For now the meadows are without crops;
the orchards are destroyed; the river dry;
the road on the ridge gone.
Yes, quiet the skies
and the chimney without smoke,
for all are gone:
Oupa, Ouma,
oom Dawid, oom John, oom Koos,
tannie Lenie,
Nellis ...
It is only she that walks in recollections;
and it is only she
who still wishes to go rest
underneath the shadows and the winter grass ...
underneath the soft hush
of the tattered pines
and the hoot in the silent eyes
of the owl.
.
Author notes
Photo: ML -- Glenheath, District Ruiterbosch, Mossel Bay, South Africa
In a list
A contest entry
- Wherever Your Mind Takes You! by Jeremy0826.
3500 points, ended June 21, 32 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 13 of 13
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When trees are around a graveyard, they are exposed to so much human grief that I believe they internalize it. The trees themselves become aware of their somber responsibility to reinject life into a somber mood. The owls come to bask in the mood of such trees, a mood as dark as night within the reach of their branches. We are ever grateful that they share our sorrows and joys and add their peaceful essence of continuity. Wonderful write.
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so impressed
you have an amazing eye
and profound lovely soul
deeper then most ever go with your exquisite imagery
lovely read
God bless you Poetess...
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This is wonderfully written and filled with some amazing imagery. Thanks so much for taking the time to write for this contest. I really appreciate it and wish you all the best with it here! Thank you!
Jeremy0826 -
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Thank you, Benjamin.
Love to you.
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It makes us homesick for the home don't yet know.
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I love this write. It reminds me of precious things I keep locked in my heart. The pines can talk, I have heard the wind whispering through their needled tongues and the tounges whispering back, and I listened and heard God whispering to me through them, comforting me like a mother comforts a sleepless child. This poem deserved gold.
Much love,
Judy
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Isn't that a gum tree in the foreground, with conifers only in the background?
I think it's nice when an artists tries to express to people outside their experience the comfort of preternatural night against the conifers.
The universe is lonely, yet on some level, if we were one person on an island that gave us food and comfort, we would soon not feel so lonely.
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No it is a very old pine tree ...
one of a lane of pines planted by my grandfather ... And yes. I am often alone on an island where I do not feel lonely. Not one bit. For we are never alone. thank you for reading me with such loyalty.
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Pines whispering to one another in the wind secrets as old as the sky. The ones with long soft needles sussurate the most and always forecast changes in the weather.
This is a beautiful write. It is especially refreshing as we here in the Northern Hemisphere move into Summer and sweltering days and wish for cooler breezes.
You are amazing.
Garrison
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You are too ...
amazing, I mean.
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We move about in life, either far from our family lands, or through the process of living. I know the moments, that can weigh on you in simple effort to give meaning, the moments past, present or worriesome future. What beauty you beheld in living in the moment, is as smelling a rose, but only later realizing the meaning. That while the simple and perhaps undervalued of others may not always be foremost in our quality of life, its a permanent part of you. Untainted, and meaningful of not only who you are Myra, but as well what you help others to realize of themselves. I wish you many more soft pine songs in winter, and I hope you get more joys in your Heath.
All My Love for You
Devon
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You understand connotation and denotation ...
essence and timelessness. Thank you, Devon, for YOUR meaningful presence in my present, and being forever part of my eternal life.
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