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Friday 4 May 2012

Clarian Sonnets : The Tree

The oak was full of spirit energy.
All felt it, from the humble bumblebee
to children changing mien as they drew near.
Wild creatures arched their backs or howled with fear,
but mostly calmed, and opened hearts to joy -
as did the fox, the man, the bird, the boy.
I felt the force of what the tree could do:
compelling thought and making that thought new -
until another broke its spirit force:
a nearby river flooded, changed its course.
The river undermined the tree's old root,
and swept the old before it, brought new fruit.
It too was full of spirit's fire and zest,
the vital in the worldly manifest.
....................................................................
This poem is a response to Semaphore's prompt at http://dversepoets.com/ dVerse ~ Poets Pub.
Clarian Sonnets are named after John Clare whose preferred form they were.

22 comments:

Jenny Woolf said...

what a wonderful way of describing the energy of nature, Dave. Love it.

hyperCRYPTICal said...

Love it too!

Anna :o]

Elephant's Child said...

And I loved the reminder that this energy is cyclical. Thanks Dave.

Semaphore said...

Fabulous, a Clarian sonnet centred around one of the most fundamental naturalistic elements of all - the tree - and thus a fitting homage to John Clare.

Marbles in My Pocket said...

I might be seeing more than was meaant to be seen, but i sense the tree could be ones muse.
In any case, I like it a lot; very nice!
http://charleslmashburn.wordpress.com/2012/05/03/then-quickly-gone/

Scarlet said...

Beautiful write...I like tne new fruit, from the tree full of spirit and zest ~

Laurie Kolp said...

Oh, this swept me away, Dave... I love trees.

aprille said...

So accomplished. What else?
Lovely read.

Brian Miller said...

ah i love me some trees...there is so much contained within a tree you know....great turn on the sonnet sir dave

vivinfrance said...

This is quite marvellous: truly in the Clarian spirit (apart from being punctuated, which I heartily agree with)

hedgewitch said...

I love the way this takes everything in its stride and shows the inner light of it--all while treading the intricate dance steps of the form. Excellent writing, David.

kaykuala said...

We marvel at what comes around the tree. A great oak at that. Great write Dave!

Hank

Ygraine said...

What a beautiful observation of the Spirit of a Tree.
I love their vibrant energy, and you've summed it up brilliantly here :)

Tommaso Gervasutti said...

A great feeling of regeneration. Really a Spring poem.
What does "Clarian" mean?

Claudia said...

love how you captured the trees magic and strength...feeling the force of what the tree could do...definitely...

Windsmoke. said...

Trees definitely have a majestic spirit and energy which is described here really well :-).

Kay said...

You've depicted the majesty of the tree along with the great force of nature in such a beautiful way. I enjoyed reading this very much.

Unknown said...

You do such a wonderful job with the form, in spirit and in the letter. The nature narrative carries special power as the forces play out their course, putting us into the magnificence of the natural processes and bringing with us insight into a grander scheme.

Anonymous said...

I liked the tree spirit energy in this, combined with the unstoppable nature of the river.

rosemarymint.wordpress.com

Mary said...

Inspired, Dave! I love the concept of spirit energy. Oh that it would be so!

Lisa said...

Sonnet and nature should be one. This comes from someone who don't know much about poetry, let alone a sonnet :)

Dave, my blog has a new address and it is on my profile. Thank you.

Dave King said...

Jenny
Good to know you did. Thanks Jenny.

hyperCRPTICal
Also, many thanks for saying so.

The Elephant's Child
Thanks for highlighting this, we are sometimes apt to forget it.

Semaphore
Difficult indeed, to do Clare justice, but very grateful for your appreciation.

Marbles in My Pocket
No, you're not reading too much into it; in the poem it does become so. Thanks for the close reading and the comment.

Heaven
Thank you for this. much appreciated.

Laurie
Lovely response. Thanks very much.

aprille
What more could I ask? Very many thanks for.

Brian
There is indeed, more than we know, I suspect. Another world almost.

vivinfrance
Thanks for this: I did wonder if I ought to have left it unpunctuated - particularly as his editors did not always improve things with their efforts - but decided to make it mine, as it were. Really appreciate your comment.

hedgewitch
Thank you for such a gratifying response. Great to have.

Hank
You are spot on. Marvel is the exact word for it. Thanks.

Ygraine
Another very encouraging comment. As always, thank you so much.

Tommaso
Thanks again. Clarian is the adjective from Clare, John Clare who favoured sonnets in this form.

Claudia
There is something magical about a tree - almost any tree - for me.

Windsmoke
Thank you. Good to hear that you felt this.

Kay
Hi and welcome to you. Thank you for visiting and for your very complimentary comment. Good to have your company.

Charles
Thank you so much for this. I was particularly fascinated by the way natural processes can come into conflict with each other.

Anonymous
Thank you. Good to have your company and your comment.

Mary
Indeed, but why not?

oceangirl
Thanks for this. I shall track it down.