INSTRUCTIONS TO A TREE
Make a branch thick—one
that is low but not too low,
and keep it parallel to earth.
Let it grow strong so
it won’t shake in a breeze
or bend in strong winds.
Then a man will come to you.
Don’t resist when he flips
a heavy rope over your branch,
the thick one parallel to earth.
Let him pull the rope tight so
it doesn’t slip with the weight
of a tire he will hang at the end.
Then a boy will come to you.
When this boy sits on the tire
pushing off with his feet to
swing higher and higher,
You will feel the rope jerk
as he drops high to low, back
and forth, and up... up again.
Be strong when the rope
twists and rubs. Don’t bend,
no matter how great the weight.
© 2019 Alice Nine. All rights reserved.
Elizabeth Steinglass has challenged us to write a poem giving instructions to an inanimate object about how to do its job. Click HERE for more details and to read this month's Spotlight ON interview.
Post your poem on our May 2019 padlet. All contributions will be included in a wrap-up celebration on Friday, May 31st, and one lucky participant will win a personalized copy of her fantastic debut poetry collection from WordSong:
This is so beautiful, Alice! Thank you for your first of what I hope will be MANY contributions to DMC challenges. :D
ReplyDeleteThank you, Michelle. Though not a contributor, I've been a reader of your DMC challenges. Thanks so much for hosting them.
DeleteSo poignant, Alice, a beautiful capturing of one way trees give us joy. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. I have always had a special connection with trees, since my girlhood when I climbed them with my brothers. It's been a long while since I climbed one... LOL! But I do enjoy noticing them.
DeleteOh, this is lovely. I especially like the lines "Then a man/boy will come to you." I like the way they tell the story and break up the pattern.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Liz. Those two lines just popped out of my pencil.
DeleteBeautiful, Alice. I love the boy that comes to the tree...I think the tree loves the boy, too.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. That's an idea... I had thought about a third single line stanza.. and maybe another three line stanza. Maybe a one liner about the tree loving the boy. It's an idea!
DeleteBeautiful! It brings back so many memories of swinging beneath a sturdy branch on a tree
ReplyDeleteEvery child should experience a swing in a tree.
DeleteWhat a sweet poem. This really brought a smile to my face -- the boy and the swing and the tree. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rosi!
DeleteGosh, how this reminds me of when our seven were littles and their tree and swing and treehouse. I shut my eyes and could almost touch the memory.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful memories, Robyn!
DeleteThis reminds me a bit of the Giving Tree with the focus on the relationship between the boy/man and the tree. I also really like those lines: "Then a man/boy will come to you."
ReplyDeleteThank you, Molly. Several people have mentioned the Giving Tree. Surprisingly, I had not made that connection, but now I'll "pair" the two.
Delete