She stands near naked, castoffs at her feet
Draws down our eyes to chiffon tinted red
We barely see the glory yet to shed

November and her fall still incomplete
With prayerful breath we check that watershed
She stands near naked, castoffs at her feet
Draws down our eyes to chiffon tinted red

Her yearly burlesque dance is bittersweet
Bereft of bloom such beauty goes unsaid.
Before she'll be gnarled winter's figurehead
She stands near naked, castoffs at her feet
Draws down our eyes to chiffon tinted red
We barely see the glory yet to shed

30 thoughts on “The Cherry Tree”

1. Wow, Laura! You’ve shown us how to do it. Your cherry tree is stunning. I especially love the idea of a tree’s ‘yearly burlesque dance’ and that ‘she’ll be gnarled winter’s figurehead’.  Sadly, our cherry shed her chiffon early this year.

   1. thank you Kim – this one has not quite finished but we are further North

2. Laura I read this as her being a woman, looked again at your title, and realized you were writing about a tree. Works both ways for me. Very nice poem.

   1. personified as a woman Lisa – she is so beautiful with all her chiffon at her feet 😉

      1. 🙂 ❤

3. You’ve turned the roundel into a sorrowful, spiraling dance, “bittersweet,” that rends the garment of beauty of the shoulders of this cherry tree. What a brilliant use of personification, Laura! I thoroughly enjoyed it.

   1. thank you Dora – saw the beauty of this tree on the way to church on Sunday and the poetry style was a good fit – good old fashioned personification 😉

      1. LOVE it! 🙂

4. I love that naked glory, seeing the beauty of the bones. A glimpse into the soul. (K)

   1. the beauty of the bones is winter’s offering I also love but wish for fall to be as slow as the tease in the strip

      1. All seasonal changes seem to me slow, then sudden.

         1. I think you are right

5. Love how you personified that beautiful tree!

   1. thank you Kim – I often avoid personification but it is commoner in Chaucer’s day so seemed to fit

6. your poem made me sad for my West Indiian Cherry tree which cracked and fell near the trunk and was cut down

   i have photos of tree and fruit, still

   much♡love

   1. what a loss

      p.s. I’m still struggling to comment on your posts Gillena even after signing in to Google

7. Sublime lyric

   1. two lovely words – much appreciated John

8. This is beautifully written, Laura. Such a great metaphor!

   1. thank you Dwight – saw it then wrote it 😉

      1. It often works that way! :>)

9. Beautiful picture painted with your words Laura, the personification works so well ❤️

   1. thank you so much Ange

10. Bravo, Laura, a fine way to describe Autumnal change and I think Chaucer would have smiled at it…

    1. I’d like to think so – thank you

11. How lovely your roundel! My love of fashion kicked in ~~ imagining a woman wearing a design of mine, red chiffon resting on a hardwood floor, shoes to match … I could see the tree as well, thank you Laura for a “challenging” challenge.

    1. thanks Helen – it would have to be cherry red of course

12. Wow. I love your poem, Laura.. Such a beautiful and original image. And the form perfectly executed.

    1. many thanks Judy -I tackled Chaucer for once!

13. So creative and so lovely!

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