This is so incredibly beautiful. That line—"And I, I close my eyes to be in the oak's branches again"—stuck with me long after I finished reading. That slight pause, the "And I, I..." feels like a catch in the throat, a moment of pure vulnerability before choosing emotional survival.
There is such a profound sense of safety in the way you write about trees and memory here. Even when life's blizzards and storms do their worst to the physical world, leaving things scattered like disjointed bones, you show us that the places that shaped us remain entirely ours. By closing your eyes, you reclaim that safety.
Using the looping structure of the pantoum was perfect for this—it feels like the mind’s natural way of searching for comfort, bypassing the grief to put the giant oak right back on the hilltop where it belongs. Thank you for sharing this deeply moving piece. 🌲🤍
Much enjoyed this your Pantoum! I was sad that the oak burnt down.
It's a lovely poem BlueIris.
The structure fits it perfectly too, with repetition mirroring that of a trees growth and renwal, each stanza building on the last in an embodied way.
Thank you @ Mark Crutchfield for your careful reading. Much appreciated.
This is so incredibly beautiful. That line—"And I, I close my eyes to be in the oak's branches again"—stuck with me long after I finished reading. That slight pause, the "And I, I..." feels like a catch in the throat, a moment of pure vulnerability before choosing emotional survival.
There is such a profound sense of safety in the way you write about trees and memory here. Even when life's blizzards and storms do their worst to the physical world, leaving things scattered like disjointed bones, you show us that the places that shaped us remain entirely ours. By closing your eyes, you reclaim that safety.
Using the looping structure of the pantoum was perfect for this—it feels like the mind’s natural way of searching for comfort, bypassing the grief to put the giant oak right back on the hilltop where it belongs. Thank you for sharing this deeply moving piece. 🌲🤍
Thank you for engaging so deeply with the poem.
Thank you 🙏🕯️