Savvy Sycamore

cluster of haiku . . .

Dazzled daybreak roosts
savvy sycamore simmers
candied coffee nips.

Honey-hued healing
upstages festering sky
paint away the rage.

Turn oxidized cheek
melancholy murmurs
foil the fracas within.

Pump the pungent
California Everlasting
maple-scented muse.

Let me climb your limbs
mount my sturdy sycamore
thighs hugging tightly.

Author's Note

Photo: sycamore tree in autumn, looking out my kitchen window.
Note: Haiku is 17 syllables total . . . most go by the standard 5 - 7 - 5, but that is not a requirement. I've not followed that line pattern in a few places.
California Everlasting: a blooming shrub that grows in the chaparral around me & it dries out in October (hot all month), then when the moisture of November hits, on a chilly dewy morning, the aroma of maple is wafting all over these hills!

Reviews

[Lydia Shutter]

Hmmm....while I am sure this is a nature poem, not so sure about that last stanza! As you always say, "wink, wink." :) The alliteration in the stanzas is just great. I never write form poetry so I can not comment on the quality of Haiku, but I can say I enjoyed this one. Lydi**

[barleygirl]

Love how you use my "wink-wink" back at me! I guess it's near impossible to write about the sensory qualities in nature without having something sensual show up at the party! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[andrew mitchell]

Nice style Margie, what a lovely idea hug a tree today I got from your last stanza but that’s after I originally thought it was sexual. Yes autumn is a time of many changers, my favourite season.

[barleygirl]

That last one is meant to be ambiguous. I find climbing trees to be a sensual thing. Thanks for stopping by to hang from a limb for a bit (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Patricia]

The imagery is beautiful, creative, great word choices. I really enjoyed this:)

[barleygirl]

Thank you for stopping by & brightening my day! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Dave Brown]

I wouldn't immediately recognize a Haiku if my life was threatened
but the continual repetition finally made me notice there was some kind of a certain form involved?
Trying to ID this on Google was too frustrating but after reading the other reviews< I finally got a clue and finally realized what a very impressive presentation you have created and how athletic you still are at your very advanced age
Not only that but You have got more reviews for this write than I usually get in reads!!
Just shows what effect a sycamore can have!!
Nicely done BG

[barleygirl]

There isn't a hint of athleticism here, my friend. This is all mental calisthenics! I can't even approach a big wild tree, let alone climb one! Thank you for humoring me as I dally in a little tweaked Tarzanism (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Dave Brown]

Duz that mean U have Cheetahed (sorry)

[barleygirl]

I have indeed cheetahed, and in addition, I have a bad case of cheethead!

[Dave Brown]

. ☮ .

[Corset]

what a lovely view from these versatile Haikus! The first haiku set the mood for me, and it's the perfect weather now for tree watching, the burst of colors, the chill that's warmed by fragrant nature. The last stanza / haiku looks like it may have raised a few eyebrows and tickled a few pink, myself included, I love the suggestive hint while retaining its innocence. lol, this reminds me so much of childhood in Kentucky. riding out on old Maggie to sit on a fallen tree to read or draw the landscape. Very enjoyable!

[barleygirl]

This review is pure awesomeness, especially the Kentucky reverie! Thanks for sharing that! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Cyprian Van Dyke]

I like your poetic language, it keeps me entertained and interesting in what you say. This is a beautiful poem that is wonderfully written. And the photo is beautiful! tyfs

[barleygirl]

Thank you for such a generous review! I'm sparkling from the warm attention! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Dreamer Sima]

Your sycamore reminds me of my mahogony tree. I love it so much and used to play around when I was a kid. Loved the oxidised cheek and melancholy murmur.... It is so poetic. Generally we use melancholy with silence but your choice of word is outstanding here. Loved the honey hued healing also. Nice work

[barleygirl]

I really feel your appreciation, & it feels like a million dollars! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

“Tree-Hugger” takes on a whole new and daring meaning in the gem of imagery and marvelous alliteration that is your poem dear Margie-girl! Your virile hunk of handsome autumnal sycamore is more than up to the task of cradling its passionate admirer, I would say. He certainly is a robust “maple-scented muse” that captures a fluttering heart in his golden branches. Love the balance and joy in your evocative, skillful verses my friend!

[barleygirl]

Cherrie went into detail to share some of her tree-loving experiences, which in turn makes me want to write more on this. Like describing many of my favorite trees along the path of life. A whole bunch of tree swings, as well as climbing, over my early years! I love your description, personifying the tree as male. Thanks for stopping by to sit in a tree with me a while! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Kay/Hayden]

I love this line for the fact I can really see myself on the tree: Let me climb your limbs
mount my sturdy sycamore
thighs hugging tightly. You never disappoint with your poems I have read so far. -Kay

[barleygirl]

Your reviews are so generous, I feel honored by your praise! I tried to make that last one NOT a completely sexual statement -- so it could apply to trees as much as to the human form. But I see some readers took it as sexual only, whereas some read it as tree-climbing only! I love to find out how different readers read things! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Kay/Hayden]

Aw, I hope you have a great Thanksgiving! (Yes I realize I have said this in every review to you and our emails lol)

[Cherrie Palmer]

I'll tell what this makes me think of. Being a kid and always climbing on some tree to see how high I could go. The first real freedom in life, for me was found in discovering nature.

[barleygirl]

At the end of this, I took that little curve into tree climbing, but now that I read your review, I feel I've been remiss in not covering tree climbing in much more detail. So much to be said about that . . . I'll let it simmer a bit! Thanks for the ideas! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Cherrie Palmer]

I'll tell you when I was 10 my grandma needed to take me to a funeral of one of my great great aunts. She swung by to pick up my aunt, who was not ready yet so she left me outsidr (mistake). When they came out I had been in a mulberry tree and was mostly purple. Needless to say she was not a happy camper. :)

[barleygirl]

I love it! I was lucky becuz I could crawl thru poison oak tunnels & not get a bit of it. I did this with a girlfriend in grammar school & my friend ended up in the hospital, she got poison oak so bad!

[Patricia Wedel]

dearest Margie... your poetry is very sensuous climbing and hugging a Sycamore Trunk and why not... if Tarzan and Jane were swinging in trees ... we can discover the view. I love living in a Tree House where Nature can breathe without spreading a virus.... perhaps homes for the future. Love and good wishes for a delicious Thanksgiving.. generously with prayers, Pat xo

[barleygirl]

In 2nd grade, we lived in a county park on the edge of town, San Francisco Bay area . . . the bus would drop me at the gate & I walked a mile home, inside the park. There was a creek to cross which had a huge smooth limb spanning it & I loved squirming across that limb every day on my way home. This tree-thing has been going on a long damn time! *wink! wink!* I love this review! (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Patricia Wedel]

HimMargie... I remember the awakening time when we were young... guess what ?
There is an awakening time when snow is on the Roof and the sound of Santa’s Reindeer hooves wake you to another excitement as Nature provides Presents under Sycamore Trees. wink wink 😉