Tuesday, October 17, 2023

haunted & uncrowned


your thin hands are those of a sparrow

poised to slump, defeated scarecrow  

no caws or birdsongs can reach you

no grunts or hoots from small creatures

can meander near your shadow

the green and lavender hues in the faraway

distance hurts your eyes

wallowing you deeper in your wounds & woes

how you allowed it to fester, red & rot 


can the wind make you swish & sway at all?

can the sun spark a seed of memories:  lush 

yellow green needles, pine cones and nuts?

sorrow seeps from every pore of your skin

oh the agony of being uncrowned leafless tree

bark beetle-bested, your inside is solid carcass

knees keeling

ribs reeling


tell me when you are ready for the

axe to fall






Georgia O’Keefe, Dead PiƱon Tree (1943), 40 x 30 inches, oil on canvas, Gift of The Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation
2006.5.180 © Georgia O’Keefe Museum


Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Haunted, hosted by Melissa Lemay.   Please join us when the pub doors open at 3pm EST.


13 comments:

  1. Oh I love what you did with this, the dead tree an excellent metaphor. There are som great alliteration here,... like bark beetle-bested

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  2. This is gorgeously rendered, Grace! I especially admire this part; "can the wind make you swish & sway at all? can the sun spark a seed of memories: lush yellow green needles, pine cones and nuts?" ❤️❤️

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  3. That tree has taken you to interesting places, haunted & uncrowned, Grace. I especially like:
    ‘’…defeated scarecrow
    no caws or birdsongs can reach you
    no grunts or hoots from small creatures
    can meander near your shadow’.

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  4. Grace, you've assessed the desolation of the dying tree so well. It is surrounded by beauty but it can't let any of it in.

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  5. A frightening poem of impending doom. Evokes such a keen sense of despair.

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  6. "Your inside is solid carcass" - just wonderful.

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  7. Oh, this is so poignant, and the flow of words in the second stanza --the imagery just outstanding. Wow!

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  8. “the green and lavender hues in the faraway
    distance hurts your eyes
    wallowing you deeper in your wounds & woes
    how you allowed it to fester, red & rot”

    “tell me when you are ready for the
    axe to fall”

    Sometimes we feel like we are ready. You’ve done a splendid job capturing emotion here, Grace.

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  9. Oh my, that ending! What an emotional piece.

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  10. What a polished piece of work, Grace! Thoroughly enjoyed the "defeated scarecrow" metaphor carried through the poem.

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  11. This is such a sad tree, and yes, it does look like someone ready to give in.

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  12. You pulled me in with the opening description "defeated scarecrow" then topped it with "bark beetle-bested" and the ending was a defeat and a mercy. What an enjoyable read.

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  13. Ms. O'Keefe would have approved, Grace!

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