I'm told I am graceful, poets say I strive to keep
lovers enchanted in the shade of romance,
'neath flowing branches along the rippling creek.
Some poetically write that I reverently weep;
yet my forlorn arms shiver in the cold winter -
as I have no family, nor a warm lover to hold me
in comfort as I grow old - I am a lonely tree.
In all the land, I have nothing and no one;
I was long ago planted here by an unseen hand,
a bowed willow standing in mourning alone,
as the poets indulge in their lovers embrace.
Not clutching at sky nor piercing the air, I am
humbly holding my own ground, with the roots
of each melancholy fiber of my being;
sheltered by the dark depths of earth.
Author notes
Prompt #1: I Am Vertical, by Sylvia Plath
A contest entry
- pick a poem by sweet arrival.
650 points, ended August 26, 10 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 6 of 6
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The willow personified. I too am guilty of using the willow in poetry, but I rationalize my use since the event I wrote about actually occurred beneath one.
Anyway....
Beautiful...and the roots do dig in deep, into your water supply if you plant them too close...I won't attempt a metaphor for that.
I think it's clear the the poem shifts from personification to a more personal (and literal) level with those last three lines -- becoming more about man than nature.
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I enjoyed
the reflective nature of this poem; thoughts and thinking that integrates. The lonliness that was created indiactes isolation; so many experience this, even amidst the most personal between people who are around us, often focused only on themselves. Despite the affects, their is solace in knowing where your roots are. Blessings. Frans
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'i am humbly holding ground' ... those resonated in me each time i read this. the wanting to be what it can't, yet more to others than it realizes.
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Thank you...
Congrats to the winners!
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I love this one!
Love all things trees! This one is beautiful, thank you for sharing it with everyone and good luck in the contest!
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Thank you for your thoughtful comments!!
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