to give away every part of me when I die
My twigs for shade from yellow-humid sun
My red blooms for tea & medicine
My thick leaves, dried & tied, an omen for blessings
Take these fibrous sap
Sweeter than young tender coconut
Silk is my color, golden ripening
My flesh, pickled spicy & thinly sliced, a feast
My oblong seeds, blossoming wings & words
My trunk, weathered storm, a ladder, a boat or ship
I see on desert or barren land
My eyes craning for glorious sunset, pared succulent & ripe
Roots dig
deeply entrenched into a river
Underneath parched lands or dusty streets
A long shadow, healing & crowning a sky
For all my children's
children to remember me by-
Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - Thanks for the visit ~
A tree is the epitome of love and sacrifice, it absorbs all the pain and gives only and only happiness to one and all.
ReplyDeleteit's cool to give away what we cannot keep anyway and make everything that's us a blessing for other people...
ReplyDeletegorgeous, Grace, especially that second verse ~
ReplyDeletea wonderful message for humanity....
ReplyDeleteI love your root-poem. cyclus....
ReplyDeleteThe rythm is very nice.
Hugs
JetteMajken
Perhaps it is only be what we give away in some way that we will be remembered....enjoyed your perspective.
ReplyDeletewhat i find cool about this is that even in death we are useful...or at least a tree is....and that is a def legacy to leave behind for many generations to come...
ReplyDeleteA tree has many uses alive or dead, even helps make a nice comfy bed
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful Grace !
ReplyDeleteA tree with edible fruit.. so many uses.. even the shade.. really quite lovely I would love to live where I could feast on mango..
ReplyDeleteGrace, it seems as though many took on the personification of a tree. I like yours very, very much. >KB
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the generous angle of your poem, Grace! And I just love mangoes.
ReplyDeleteGrace, I love your opening line, "I sign a form
ReplyDeleteto give away every part of me when I die"
It's so true and giving, yet your poem has a peace about it- it can be good.
Such hope found in demise, or what I prefer to think of as transition. I loved seeing the mango trees in Hawaii. You walked the poetic tight rope between sadness & smiles; nice job.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beautiful description of all a tree gives. Beautiful Grace.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you approached this and the different roles it still plays even in death.
ReplyDeleteSuch a beloved poem!
ReplyDeleteTrees are always giving, even when it's just a beautiful photo. A lovely write :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is one of my favourites of your poems, Grace. Very wonderful, especially the closing lines.
ReplyDeleteTo be able to donate every part of you, and then live on. Can we wish for anything more? A thoughtful, lovely piece.
ReplyDeleteGiving is Living! Good poem! A little sad, time moves on...
ReplyDeleteSuch a breath-taking poem.
ReplyDeletewow!!! You write with pure soul and heart! You have my respect. :)
Grace, I particularly love the reach of roots, a very insightful metaphor if you ask me.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love the approach you took for this, and I love these lines:
ReplyDelete"Underneath parched lands or dusty streets
A long shadow, healing & crowning a sky"
It's nice to read your beautiful poems again Grace. I missed you. This one is lovely. Trees keep giving us long after their deaths. I am so grateful to them.
ReplyDeleteto be a blessing to our children's children - that is a wonder indeed.
ReplyDeleteOh, Grace- this seriously, hard core beautiful. That's all I can say.
ReplyDeletethis is beautiful. very interesting how you brought to life (in the shadows of its death) the tree.
ReplyDeleteso loved how you took this apart... great approach
ReplyDeleteThis piece is very thought-provoking... the continuous sacrifice of the trees.. i like, 'blessing to our children's children'... beautiful!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, and love the personification, a lovely take on trees. :)
ReplyDeleteMango tree is a wonder to watch as it makes such a sweet fruit to cherish
ReplyDeleteThis is so incredibly beautiful Grace!! I just love this poem so much! You are a brilliant poetess! :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is just my favourite poem of the day so far: it's gorgeous - I love this sense of continuity, of circularity, of sacrifice and replenishment.
ReplyDeleteSo descriptive of the lovely flowering tree....we all need to stop to thing about saving the trees NOW!
ReplyDeleteSo refreshing, Grace. A pleasure to contemplate.
ReplyDeleteWow I love that we both blogged about trees! We must be on the same wavelength :) this is incredibly beautiful. Trees make so many sacrifices for us don't they? If only we could show them the same love that they show us...
ReplyDeletebeautifully done grace - love the images
ReplyDeleteWhat a great take on the prompt. Love how you wove this together. What a gift!
ReplyDeletelovely poem a tree with many gifts..
ReplyDeleteYes, not only lovely but immensely useful. As is your poem, that reminds us.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful writing, Grace. This poem reminds me of The Giving Tree. A tree is a gift.
ReplyDeleteI believe we live in our words, and our words live well beyond us. We become perpetual such as trees.For our children's children and beyond. Thought provoking! Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteOrgan donors! If only we were as giving as trees!
ReplyDelete