Live thy Life,
Young and old,
Like yon oak,
Bright in spring,
Living gold;
Young and old,
Like yon oak,
Bright in spring,
Living gold;
Summer-rich
Then; and then
Autumn-changed
Soberer-hued
Gold again.
Then; and then
Autumn-changed
Soberer-hued
Gold again.
All his leaves
Fall'n at length,
Look, he stands,
Trunk and bough
Naked strength.
Fall'n at length,
Look, he stands,
Trunk and bough
Naked strength.
Alfred Lord Tennyson
A mighty wind blew night and day
It stole the oak tree's leaves away
Then snapped its boughs and pulled its bark
Until the oak was tired and stark
But still the oak tree held its ground
While other trees fell all around
The weary wind gave up and spoke.
How can you still be standing Oak?
The oak tree said, I know that you
Can break each branch of mine in two
Carry every leaf away
Shake my limbs, and make me sway
But I have roots stretched in the earth
Growing stronger since my birth
You'll never touch them, for you see
They are the deepest part of me
Until today, I wasn't sure
Of just how much I could endure
But now I've found, with thanks to you
I'm stronger than I ever knew.
Johnny Ray Rider Jr.
A lovely poem of resilience Peter :)
ReplyDeleteFun what one finds on the internet.
DeleteLovely poems, both...but I'm always partial to Tennyson :-)
ReplyDeleteI've never heard that Rider poem before, I loved it. The branch that Tom found is so beautiful, every leaf just perfect.
ReplyDeleteBy the next day dry and dull. How fleeting is that glorious moment in the sun.
DeleteIt is the time of year where I seem to bring some bit of nature home from just about every dog walk. This morning I watched people in the park collecting fallen horse-chestnuts (the edible ones). I'll have to visit that tree later today.
ReplyDeleteHappy chestnut hunting!
DeleteI love this post.
ReplyDeleteYea!
DeleteJust perfect!
ReplyDeleteThanks.
DeleteLove that old oak poem... words of great wisdom.
ReplyDeleteNice! So grounding... :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! I really love those poems. Makes me think that we too can stand strong through the changing seasons.
ReplyDeleteOf course the lines from an English folk song might make us think differently. "I leaned my back up against some oak, thinking that he was a trusty tree, But first it bended and then it broke just like my false love did to me."
DeleteSuch lovely poems, Peter! Happy Thursday!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Satu! Happy Thursday to you!
DeleteLet me add my voice to the accolades for a handsome, stout-hearted fellow. Oh, and I admire the Oak, too.
ReplyDeleteGolly ma'am, I'm blushing. Just curious, did the optometrist ever write that new much stronger prescription he was talking about?
DeleteInspiring poem, I wish it would apply to my 2 young oaks. One was overrun by 30' Himalayan blackberries vines and bent over, it is now 15-20' tall and still bent over, but I just cleared out the blackberries and found it had suckered at the base, some nice straight suckers, one 6' tall, so maybe I can just let them grow and eventually cut down the bent tree, but I don't know if I should trim off all the suckers but the tall one. Suggestions welcome.
ReplyDeleteI'd be tempted to cut all suckers but the one you want. Why let the plant put energy into the others? I'm no an arborist though so can't say for sure if that's what you should do.
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