and again stand nude in the winter freeze
what is it they keep thinking
there’s no tellin’ with them trees
do they forget about the snow
that the cold cold wind’ll blow
perhaps they keep imagining
a warmer place that they might go
maybe dreamin’ they will run
down to the land of surf and sun
but they just can’t escape their roots
a brutal challenge for everyone
rob kistner © 2019
Tuesday Poetics: The Question as Poetry
I like the way your conclusion broadens the scope of the poem and turns the literal roots into a metaphor.
Glad you liked this RW.
Clever Rob!
That’s me Linda… 😉
Excellent metaphor, Rob. Too true. I think you solved the mystery.
Thank you Lisa.
I like the idea of the trees imagining a warmer place they might go! If trees could migrate…
Glad you enjoyed this Catherine.
Those sad trees. No matter where you go, there you are.
And like us Toni, stuck in their rut.
I love this!
Thank you Mary, I am glad! 🙂
You rocked the prompt. I went off on a tangent, whereby I thought the whole poem should be rhetorical questions, and the Neruda line gets worked it. Yours is bang on, clever, humorous, and metaphorical.
Thank you Glenn. I enjoyed yours as well bros.
I love autumn but hate the snow. I would rather have this: land of surf and sun
You and me both Grace.
These lines reminded me that, unlike birds, trees cannot migrate:
‘do they forget about the snow
that the cold cold wind’ll blow
perhaps they keep imagining
a warmer place that they might go’
and then I thought of the old nursery rhyme/song:
‘the north wind doth blow
and we shall have snow,
but what will the robin do then, poor thing?’
Made me shiver!
And them trees id buck naked Kim, standing in the snow and wind. Believe me they want the sand and surf — but they will never escape their rootsL
I like the ignorance of the trees – that they undress only to find themselves in winter. Maybe they dream of warmer climes – maybe they don’t mind.
Thanks for joining in – that Neruda quote is one most of us have chosen it seems – topical anyway for the season
Thank you Laura, trees are like humans in that we are prone to be anchored in our ruts.
Now that’s a very clever piece of writing! Well done.
Thank you Misky.
True sentiment! Great metaphors and conclusion!
Thank you Astrid.
Enjoyed this light-hearted and yet pithy write, Rob! Trees/we can’t escape their/our roots, indeed.
Glad you enjoyed this Lynn.
A good contemplation…and questions we might also ask of ourselves.
Thank you Kerfe — and yes indeed.
Perfectly said! It’ only hit me when I got to the end of your poem poem, that we really can’t escape our roots.
Thank you Vivian.
Love the thought of the roots… I think we all are like trees, tethered a bit.
Glad this resonated for you Björn.
I don’t usually do this, but I’m going to offer a suggestion: instead of “but they just can’t escape their roots” what about “they can’t just escape….” ? I read it the second way on my first skim, and then found the more common “just can’t” jarring on the second read.
Thoughts? (and apologies, and thanks for letting me mess with your lovely poem!)
Thank you Xan for caring enough to comment. The dropping of “g’s” on the ends of a couple of words, as well as the choice and positioning of certain words in certain phrases (including ‘just can’t’ and ‘them trees’), where done to bring a lighter colloquial feel to the piece. It was a creative attempt, to make the statement of the universal reality, regarding the near impossibility of anyone ever truly escaping one’s roots, hit harder and land heavier.
a powerful metaphor … our roots/background shape but don’t define us … I’m heading to the surf and sun 😉