Old Oak

Hard the road that trekked our life.

 

 

1500 yr old Oak

The sun sinks low in the sky

while the moon slowly rises

Dreams this way linger long

for tomorrow-in all its guises

 

I look back longing my days

just to find where I fell last

How can we see the future

who don't remember our past

 

Hard the road we trekked in life

living well as some had done

Youth hides the tears in shadow

paths shown by the ageless sun

 

I once held life's greatest joy

futures road lie before me

All that was or ever been

blessed as the tall Oak tree

 

Hope, my shoulder to the wind

muscles gleamed in the noon sun

Strong was my back that carried

the hopes that you were the one

 

Tate

Author's Note

For she who crossed roads with me then diverged in the woods.

Reviews

[Muse]

I felt you looking towards the future..reflecting on the past...reminiscing in the moment. I liked the title and the picture too...so telling. The Old Oak is said to be wise....it's limbs providing an umbrella to life's storms...the bark over time sluffs away like our own skin....yet it grows new bark...like a rebirth of sorts. The shade it provides is always so forgiving from the harsh glare of the sun. If only we could carry that old oak tree around with us every where we went. Maybe then we wouldn't feel so vulnerable.

I once held life's greatest joy

futures road lie before me

All that was or ever been

blessed as the tall Oak tree


A tree that lives to be old..like us mortals is truly blessed.
"Age is a reward...not a right."

[Tate Morgan]

Beth you are deep thinker. This was written to an old girlfriend. The thought was to thank her for the time we spent together and let her know no hard feelings

[Muse]

beautifull shared

[Tate Morgan]

thank you

[Bhavya Kaushik]

Oh! What a beautiful metaphor it is..I loved this piece, the imagery is so outstanding.
I could feel it...I could feel the emotions, could feel the despair.
Great work

[Theresa]

I've been sitting here for three minutes trying to think of something great to write to capture everything I felt about this poem but I keep coming up empty. I guess that means more in itself then any words I could write. However,I will say it is a beautiful poem that really gets you thinking about both the past, present and future. Nicely done.

[Tommy]

Tate,
It is amazing how your are able to capture the very emotional moments of life and put them in words people can all relate to. I am once again stunned by the beauty you have expressed upon the page. I find the best work, to that I can relate to, and my friend this is a masterpiece.

RLG,
Tommy

[Thorn]

For tomorrow-in all it's guises.
***
There shouldn't be an apostrophe in that "its" ^^


Futures road lay before me.
***
But "future's should"

Just minor things, though. This is, overall, quite a wonderful poem. :)
I especially love the title. There are so many titles that you could have given this poem, but this one seems very appropriate.
"Old oak"- referring to the path through life in the third stanza. But I can also see it referring to your friend. Just like when a child's beloved tree is cut down, and that child carries memories of it forever.

I suck at this, but do you get what I mean?

[The Analog Kid]

I like the symbolism of the old, hard oak. The themes: the past, future, and choices. Well done brother.

[Star Wolf]

Beautiful picture to go with a lovely poem, full of depth and hope.

[Jamie Taylor]

Beautiful!(:

[Lola Nation]

Lovely ... the aging oak always a wonderful subject.

[Jessica M.]

The uncertainty of the future is very clear in this poem and it provokes a beauty and yet an instability. No one ever knows what will happen in the future and although this poem carries an uncertainty in it it doesn't seem lost in any way. The speaker has an assurance of what he has done.

I must wonder why the third and fourth line of the first stanza are the only ones that aren't seven syllables. I love how "Dreams this way linger long" sounds. It has a resonance that's very clear throughout the poem.

Using the old oak tree as the central imagery was a cool idea. I was surprised the roots weren't mentioned in the poem for some reason. Overall, it was a very nice write. I love that you tried to feel what an oak would feel.