Old Man Oak

A poem snatched from my sad attempt at a novel.

Old Man Oak, not quite dead, lingering by the river.

 

Low hang his brittle branches,

Low to scrape the ground

Beaten down by the weight of centuries

Beaten down, he waits for time.

 

Hundreds of summers’ growth, he knows

Rich with leaves and flowing sap

Hundreds of autumns’ chill, he knows

And hundreds of tiny deaths

 

Hundreds of deepest winter snows,

Through which the old oak slept

And hundreds of shining springs, he knows

And breathes another years’ breath

Old Man Oak, not quite dead, lingering by the river.

Author's Note

I'm not much of a poet, so be gentle...

Reviews

[Sasha]

There isn't much need to be gentle...
Hehe. Now that I've retrieved my mind, I can tell you that I did genuinely like the second stanza in particular. I liked the "Hundreds of..." repitition and the tiny deaths bit. It's interesting how trees "die" but don't over and over. (Eloquent, I know.) The inclusion of all seasons was a nice touch and I liked the rhyme in spring. Nicely done.

[Tate Morgan]

i LOVE THE POEM bECAUSE i SEE THE OLD TREE AS YOU DO .iMMORTAL

[Rick Puetter]

Dear ilnymhorrim,

Contrary to your protestation that you're "not much of a poet", this poem comes across marvelously. The line "Old Man Oak, not quite dead, lingering by the river", gives the poem almost the feel of a haiku. And the progression of the seasons is fine work.

Very nicely done.

Best regards,

Rick

[Dianah]

This is really beautiful. Reminds me of one of my favourite huge oak trees by the riverside at Sedbergh,(northern England) at the foot of rounded Howgill hills. 'Hundreds of tiny deaths' I love that line.

[cilla]

This is simply beautiful. I believe we define ourselves by the way we view the world around us. This speaks of the cycle of seasons � the slow, methodical passage of time � beginnings and endings.

You should try your hand at poetry more often � this one is a gem.

[Alex Caine]

Be gentle? There's no need to ask. This is a GREAT piece of work. I LOVE IT! It just flows so well and is so descriptive. It reminded me a lot of the Ents from Lord of the Rings...I'm not sure why, but it's just so well written and your imagery is amazing. I'm pretty sure you should keep writing poetry :)

[BABSIE BEE]

I think you,re a great poet and I soooo love this piece. Very often I think about writing about the trees in my garden and these words I would surely have written to describe my little tree family. When in my hot tub I sit and marvel at the life and death on the branches of these wonderful huge beings. I love this poem so much. Thanks for sharing. My thoughts entirely.
Babsie Bee xxx

[visions of doom]

from little acorns , great oaks grow and i'm very sure that many little acorns will be looking around this site seeking inspiration . i do hope they happen upon this lovely poem . very well written my friend .

[Robert Francis Callaci]

Nothing to be gentle about- this piece flowed- in had a great cadence-excellent use of rhyme- I felt the old oak tree age- good poetry


I look forward to reading your novel- I too am an old dude who has for years been tinkering with my own little weave.



my warmest
bob

[Ari]

This topic is done pretty frequently, but I really like this. I think it is extremely well-done, and I actually care about this oak, which surprises me.

[Scott H.]

I really like it. The seasonal imagery is very portrait-like. Well done.