“Every tree a word does your heart stop?”
So they prized you with the Nobel
golden gong that clangs the loudest
in this whirly world of words
they say you listen to the wind
is that how verses come to you?
then surely it's an autumn wind
or Fall as you might say
a wild tumbling collective
stanzas like blown leaves
different, too disconnected
for one tree
but a constancy
surely trees then
more lovely than just one poem
God's woods1 of poetry
knee-deep littering
fragrant with pine
and on the top most branches
the insightful bird spies
and whistles what to write
- see her poem Town on the way through God’s Woods from which the epigraph is taken ↩︎
It’s Open Link Night @ dVerse where anything goes as long as its poetry and Grace is host with an optional prompt that references Anne Carson’s Nobel prize for Literature and her poem “Wildly Constant” which this poem only lightly alludes to.
If only it was that simple but I love the homage to her writing with: whirly world of words. The ending lines are superb:
the insightful bird spies
and whistles what to write
it was not easy to capture the spirit of her writings so I conjured fragments! thank you for the prompt and for your appreciation
Beautiful fragments, Laura, especially:
‘a wild tumbling collective
stanzas like blown leaves
different, too disconnected
for one tree’
and
‘God’s woods1 of poetry
knee-deep littering
fragrant with pine’.
I know that bird.
thank you for liking so much 🙂
How could I not? 😍
X
I have not yet read that much of her… I bought one of her books… but have not managed to start yet. Love how you tied the fragments together… and from what I have read she does the same by tying reference from all over the place.
I only read a few for the prompt just to try and get a feel for her as poet and as you say she does pull in bits and pieces from all over
Lovely, very difficult form of verse to do; entices, takes one by the hand to guide them…
fragrant with pine….well, am currently looking at a log cabin to buy in the mountains in Ukraine, nice area, but…as I keep explaining to friends — the trees around are not pine trees…they don’t understand the problem, but your line does…
Thanks Ain for following along – as for your cabin what better place to write poetry but only with the sound of singing pines, wafting fragrance your way
Aaah, delicious…
A small cup of pine needle tea also goes nicely.
tempting!
The wind certainly whistled a lovely verse into your ear!
Thank you
Nice tribute to Anne Carson…I especially like the “knee-deep littering” and “insightful bird” whistling 🙂
Many thanks Lynn
You play fine homage to her style but I do find it hard to grasp. My problem.
I think because poetry lies between the immediately accessible and the frankly obtuse – Carson seems to leans nearer the former
A lovely poem Laura. Yes, poems can come on the wind!
Thank you for the link to the original poem – I don’t know very much of Carsons work, and this one really spoke to me.
Glad to hear you followed through on the ref link – that site has quite a few of her poems
I’m enjoying them
A beautiful poetic homage, Laura. I especially love the woods of words “fragrant with pine” and the bird atop them “that whistles what to write.” 💙
thank you for your appreciation Merril
You’re welcome, Laura!
Beautiful! And the thought of the wind whispering poetry for one to write… umm yes, yes please.