Happy May Day and Poetry Friday! Elizabeth Steinglass has the Roundup today and offers a great video where she shares poems from her terrific book Soccerverse. Many thanks, Elizabeth!
This past week we had to do a difficult thing; we cut down 10 pine trees very close to our home.
We have lived with these trees for forty-two years, and they were huge when we arrived. This winter strong winds sheared off a thirty-foot top, which, thankfully, did not land on the roof. So it was time to say goodbye with gratitude.
We spoke this litany to the sentinels who stood with us for so long.
To Our Pines
To pines who have sheltered us from wind and snow
whose shade has cooled us
we offer gratitude.
And let you go.
For birds’ nests and sighing branches,
for holding swings, wind chimes and clothes lines
we offer gratitude.
And let you go.
To friends who’ve grown older with us,
given us oxygen to breathe,
we offer gratitude.
And let you go.
May your spirits remain close,
your whispers stay in memory,
your legacy bless what shall come anew.
We let you go.
Oh, I love we offer gratitude and let you go. I'm imaging a whole day of saying that. Thank you for these lines and for your poem.
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting, Elizabeth. I did a lot of tree hugging!
DeleteThat is so beautiful, Joyce. Puts me in mind of Jane Kenyon's "Let Evening Come."
ReplyDeleteThank you, Laura. I love Jane Kenyon's poetry.
DeleteWhat a hard decision to make, but what a lovely way to honor the lives of those trees.
ReplyDeleteThat's rough, Joyce! I'm sure they will be missed. You wrote a lovely tribute.
ReplyDeleteLovely poem of gratitude. Sad to hear the pines had to go. Trees are such inspirational sentinels. They did a good job of watching over you and providing so much beauty through the years.
ReplyDeleteThis is lovely, Joyce. I feel the same way about trees, they become like members of the family. We rely on them, climb in them, find shelter from them. It is a hard thing to let go. I salute your courage.
ReplyDeleteSo very sad, Joyce, but thank you for letting them go with love and gratitude. It makes such a difference.
ReplyDelete