Thursday, August 15, 2019

Recalling Spring

My wonder pal, Christie Wyman, is hosting Poetry Friday at Wondering and Wondering this week. She invited members of the community to write a poem with a tree-related theme. Studying her photo below, I recall a long-ago spring afternoon filled with wistful wondering.

642A84AD-F4CC-4949-B3EB-EED67148E969
Photo of Fairyland Pond by Christie Wyman
Tucked away in the corners of my mind,
a long-forgotten memory surfaces.

Glints 
of sunshine
shine through trees
inviting me to breathe in
the freshness of springtime air.
I wander through lush countryside
wistfully wondering, finding the right angle
behind a camera lens. I seek nature's beauty
and notice majestic trees solemnly standing guard.
Their limbs lightly lift in the gentle breeze, gathering
my thoughts that race before me, in contrast to a slow pace.
Farmlands laden with red barns stretch out for miles. Wildflowers
growing abundantly wait for picking.  A solitary bench becomes an
ageless photo.
Time does pass.
Memories fade
like ink on
parchment
but nature
remains as
a constant.
©CVarsalona, 2019

In searching for poetry on trees, I found Joyce Kilmer, Trees, an all-time favorite, and a video of Nelson Eddy putting the poem to song. You can access that here.


Digitized photo of upstate New York in springtime



Christie's photo and mine will brighten the walls of the Splendid Spring Gallery collection that waits to be unveiled.

17 comments:

  1. Thanks for linking up, Carol! I'm so glad you enjoyed my Fairyland Pond photo. It's a truly inspiring place! We both featured a tree shape poem, and that reminds me that my Kinders might find that fun to try. Cheers! -- Christie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Christie, I am so behind in my gallery unveilings. This has been a difficult year with my uncle falling last October and breaking his neck. 4 friends passed away; funerals were difficult. Life is fragile and intersects breaking the flow. Thank God for faith, yoga, and writing that allow me to step back and put all in perspective. I am rethinking the order of my galleries. Your new crop of Kinders will be another group to create poems and drawings for seasonal galleries. Shape poems would be so much fun to share. Maybe you could have some for the NCTE presentation so I could share their work.

      Delete
  2. While I love your poem the ending lines are my favorite,
    "but nature
    remains as
    a constant."
    I hope we do all in our power to help nature.
    I also like what you did with your NY digitized image, it has the feeling of an oil painting as if it was just painted, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michelle, Yes, Michelle, we need to keep the environment as the constant for there is such beauty of the earth. Those last lines were my favorite too. They were the constant in the poem for me. I left them in tact while I played around with other lines during the multiple revisions. I had fun creating a piece of digital art from my original photo. The colors were strong to begin with but the softness and the blending really pumped up the piece.

      Delete
  3. It's interesting to think of nature as a constant when it is ever-changing... I love it. Thank you, Carol. xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am glad that you found that line interesting, Irene. Nature changes its look with the seasons but remains a faithful visitor on earth.

      Delete
  4. I love your concrete poem Carol. In the last couple of weeks I've been brutally reminded that nature might remain constant, but it is also changing. Our relationships with trees sure is complicated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For sure your family's relationships with trees are complicated but it is history of love.

      Delete
  5. Oh, I do love this one, Carol! Nature is our one constant...indeed!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Nature is a constant source of comfort to me. You've written a beautiful poem, Carol, and your digitalized photo is the perfect accompaniment.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Memories fade like ink on parchment paper and the constant of change is powerful. I like the shape of your poem

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, yes...tree limbs gather my thoughts. So many tree friends on my walks to talk to and to receive comfort from. A lovely concrete poem.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Carol, your poem, with those "glints of sunshine" and abundant wildflowers, creates such a feeling of serenity. Lovely!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love that inviting bench in the photo! Great place to sit and write poems about trees!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. "Wistfully wondering,finding the right angle"--finding the angle is essential, right? How do I look, how do I approach the poem to show an angle never before seen? I love that part of writing poetry.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Such a thoughtful, introspective poem, Carol. Clearly you and trees meditated on this one together. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Lovely poem and photos, Carol!

    ReplyDelete