Remember
how as children
we played at Indians
went tracking through the woods?
Even then
we thought them thick with thoughts
more crowded than with trees.
They hung like cobwebs from the canopy.
Today the forest is all mind
the trees are neurons
tread lightly through
avoid the twig that snaps
the leaves that rustle
we
are what will pass for inspiration
interlopers maybe
but a sudden thought the trees have had
an uninvited notion
dripping through the leaves
a massive firing in the canopy
where dendrite branches make
their billion connections.
Everything that moves is thought
was thought an age ago.
Yesterday tree surgeons operating in the wood.
Today a gaping wound
the axons in their barky sheaths
had grown diseased.
The forest mind is not disturbed by this
as our minds are
as we, its inspiration, are.
Just recently
electric storms
lightning flashes lit the canopy.
It was as though
the forest had a seizure
It must have washed away
a lot of memory.
I'm wondering
if we survived intact.
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Tuesday, 31 May 2011
Thoughts from the Forest
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14 comments:
wonderful imagery and a great juxtaposition. I'll be back to this one over and over.
Dave - I see you wandered over to Vicki Fatum's blog. She is a wonderful photographer. Her work is really inspirational. I have learned a great deal from seeing such wonderful and elegant compositions. She gave herself the daunting task of shooting everyday for 365 days and blogging the results. I could not have done it.
...where dendrite branches make their million conections....
quite a line! thankyou for making me think!
"The forest mind" is really staying with me...terrific.
A lovely write. You are an inspiration!
trees are a favorite of mine and you did them justice in this ode.
A very thoughtful poem with such interesting analogies.
On my monitor the font is so small that it looks like gnat droppings- , I have to get my lookers to see this poem which I am sure will delight me as usual.
Like the comparison. I don't know if you know, but I wrote a biography of Lewis Carroll. In my research I read an account from one of the children he used to tell stories to. She said that the best bit was always when the characters were in a wood. She sensed that there was something special about it and it gave her a strange feeling. I feel you have caught the way that many of us internalise the idea of a forest.
As with the above comments, I love the identification of mind with forest, but the absolute joy of this was the strength of some of the lines. This one;
Everything that moves is thought
was thought an age ago.
is mindblowing by itself!
Really thought-provoking work.
Another fantastic walk down memory lane of our childhood :-).
Wow, I just read this about three times.....Great poetry..reminds me of when I read "To Kill A Mockingbird" and couldn't put it down....Somehow nature has its way of forgiving us when we disturb it.....I believe through storms , there is a spiritual reincarnation and rebirth...Excellent work Dave..I so enjoyed! Linda
Carl
Thanks a lot Carl. Good to know you liked it.
As for Vicki's blog, I enjoyed my visit immensely. There is certainly much to be learnt there.
Nilofer
Thanks for the compliment. Will be along.
Gerry
Thanks for the feedback. Always welcome, always useful.
Hannah
Once it's part of you, the forest stays, I find. Thanks for visiting and leaving your comment.
Rose
Thanks for that. Much appreciated.
Corinna
Thanks. Lovely compliment.
jabblog
Your comments are always heartening. Thanks.
Linda Sue
Sorry about that. You might be able to adjust your font size.
Jenny Woolf
Thank you for that. No, I didn't know you had written the biography, but I can relate to the remarks of that child. I also feel there is something very special, and almost "other" about a forest. Yours is a very stimulating comment. Thanks again.
Titus
Your comments are always so gratifying as well as interesting. Your highlighting of lines or phrases that then make themselves more known to me than they were is a great boost. Thank you.
Windsmoke
Indeed, thanks for the comment.
Linda
Now it's my turn to say "wow"! My poem compared to "To Killa Mockingbird"! I'd truly have settled for that! Thank you so much for the comment.
Impressions made. Inspiration felt.
Thanks too for your visit, and comment.
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