When that man lets his dog
rip off my bark
exposing my heartwood
I want to tear my roots
from the soil, rush at him
rip the fur off the hound
and lay it at his feet
"Don't you know
that's what you've done to me?"
But I stay still
wave my branches in the breeze
let starlings gather
in my crown to mourn
my slow death
Be a Tree for Read Write Poem
"But I stay still
ReplyDeletewave my branches in the breeze
let starlings gather
in my crown to mourn
my slow death"
wonderful/excellent lines--wish I had written those! :)
Yes, excellent.
ReplyDeleteWow! what an impact this has Juliet - and I couldn't agree more. Excellent poem in every aspect.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, especially the last stanza.
ReplyDelete*
(I feel that way when I see children breaking branches off trees in parks...)
Amazing.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we'd be able to stop weeping if the trees were able to tell us what they really thought. You are brilliant!
ReplyDeletemakes me wonder what the piece of wood in my wood stove right now wants to do to me!!!!!
ReplyDeleteTrees can only do that. Wait for slow death!
ReplyDeletevery nice, glad i'm not a tree
ReplyDeleteThe cycles of life go on, and on, and on.
ReplyDeleteDeath of a tree happens - death of trees is something to fear.
Scot, Jo, Janice, Deb, Noah, leigh thanks
ReplyDeleteSelma - I think you're right about the weeping, oh and thanks
Paisley - but you're using the wood wisely, not destroying it needlessly
Gautami - specially the injured ones
anthony - you're right of course, but its not normal for people to set dogs on trees to rip off the bark. Its kind of symbolic too, the one tree for all the trees..
This poem is about what happens to damaged trees, but it also explores the transformation of anger. Excellent poem, as usual.
ReplyDeleteThat last stanza is amazing. If ever you want to sell it, I'll take it off your hands. (Green with envy).
ReplyDeleteWhoa! I felt this one. Very nice, Juliet.
ReplyDeletewow, poignant and beautifully done!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm with all those other commenters - very nice.
ReplyDelete-------------------
"If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier in cutting them down?"
"Maybe we would be, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason"
-Deep Thoughts
surely part of the beauty of the tree is that it takes mostly all man..or dog..can throw at it and survives...and sees..and has wisdom.
ReplyDeleteI like how the anger and dignity rub against each other and create sparks!
ReplyDeletegreat poem, great title ... !
ReplyDeleteLovely poem! Another striking thing for us to pause for thought about. I think also our kind have got a thing about "tidying up" as when people get rid of trees they get rid of the wildlife that inhabits it too :(
ReplyDeleteNice play on "bark."
ReplyDeleteAround here it's the deer that do that, especially to staghorn sumacs and Hercules' club trees, this time of year when other food is scarce. It's the inner bark they're after, I guess.
a very strong and painful feeling came to me... what a impact, and a very important lesson! Thanks a lot for the subscription... Loved to know your poems!
ReplyDeleteChristine - oh so much so! The first draft was pure anger but transformed itself in the writing, so it was quite therapeutic...
ReplyDeleteDave - thanks, yes deer can be destructive here too,
laurence - well yes until we start burning down the rainforests and destroying all the trees, which we are doing it seems...
Billy - not for sale! but thanks...
ReplyDeletegardenpath, polona, baba, linda, seb, gromit - thanks
Clever title. *grins*
ReplyDeletei have to agree with everyone that the last stanza really did it for me.
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing that and the title sure made me chuckle after reading this poem
Beautifully poised between anger, humour (the title!) and sadness - very well crafted!
ReplyDeleteadds a new meaning to 'giving without expectations' - knowing death is knocking, trees still give, very nice.
ReplyDeleteI love the swift action of ripping the fur and laying "it at his feet." It is such a "dog-like" action, but perfectly executed by the tree.
ReplyDeleteThe last stanza really seems to capture the thoughts of a tree, if a tree had thoughts. And, hey, who knows?
This poem evokes such emotion. I love your devotion to environmental poetry and issues.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments on my blog!