Rundel : poems discussed 4/7

 

Poems from Poets Walk--to celebrate "Poet Tree" now hanging on trees in the reading garden

When I am a Tree by Susan Deer Cloud

City Trees  by Edna St. Vincent Millay

The Emancipation Proclamation by William Heyen

Going North  by Anthony Piccone

Winter Landscape  by Judith Kitchen

Flip Book  by Tony Leuzzi

2 more Poems from local poets for "Poet Tree"  

Look at the Trees  by Kitty Jospé

October by Jim Jordan 

Two poems discussed 4/6 (see that posting...) Beannacht by John O'Donohue; Maternal Dusk, the Paternal Light by Amit Dahiyabadshah

Discussion:

Susan Deer-Cloud:  You might guess from her name, she is Indigenous American, but is mixed lineage Catskill Indian who first and foremost thinks of herself as a human being and child of the universe.  The title repeated five times carries the reader from the celebratory birth in October, (with lovely alliterative "blaze in branches", "garnet and gold"), to attributes as perch for eagles (not just any bird), a living being rooted, filled with sap--as eager to be hugged as any human being.  We enjoyed the almost humorous coyness in the "trembling"... and "all leaves".  A beautiful example of how everything is connected... how the tree is thus, all those things around it. 

Edna St. Vincent Millay: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/edna-st-vincent-millay; If you read her biography, you might be surprised that this poem was selected for Poets Walk, given her range and prowess.  We enjoyed the contrast between the "city" and "country" trees... skillful play between silence and the "shrieking city air"... The end rhyme is like the wind, almost imperceptible, yet creating a flow to the music, like the the sound of leaves.  We agreed-- trees are so restorative!  

William Heyen:  We tried to remember the actual words of the Emancipation Proclamation https://www.archives.gov/exhibits/featured-documents/emancipation-proclamation/transcript.html  The anaphor "Whereas" followed by three lines introduced by ampersands seems to mimic the style of the speech which indeed has the repeated anaphor of "And..."   We discussed "heartwood grave" -- grave as both adjective, and noun... the idea of the heart of a tree lifting up, perhaps a stump of a tree, as a marker of a grave?  I love that the words are next to the Haudenesaunee Prayer of Thanksgiving, and two trees were planted by them.  It is not for us to "use" the tree for our profit (lumber, paper, etc.) but to let it be itself.

Joyce mentioned how she tends graves in the Mt. Hope Cemetery...  It is so interesting how connections and associations allow us to share our own personal experiences.  Another comment came up about people  asking for money on the streets, offering a poem or a song for $1.  

Tony Piccione:  I can't say we understood the poem -- but that image of lying down, looking up at a solitary tree seeming to come out of the forehead of a rock face on a mountain is striking! The verb howling reminded us of coyotes... but what is "the voice forgiving everything"?  Going North... metaphorically, if a slave, is to head for freedom -- perhaps like this last renegade tree... I love the "freedom from ownership" -- birds nest in the tree, "although it's not theirs either" !

Judith Kitchen:  The tree connection in this poem is the metaphor of a tree being what welds the whiteness of a winter sky, to the snow on the ground.  The imagery is well painted... we can imagine the horses, the whirl of snow... and the surprising "acceptance of the vagaries of wind" by the car.  We would have wanted to know more about "believing the impossible"... what are the two griefs we slides between? The numbing cold, the blank slate of the whiteness, makes no demands.  

Tony Leuzzi: Flip book poem is fun - from front to back... back to front... and the surprising ending.

Kitty Jospé: Inspired by Li-Young Lee, "One Heart" (slated for discussion 4/14):  Mike liked the way the poem started in media res-- as if something had been described, but we don't see it... maybe something happened.  It's good to consider the paradoxical nature of leaves, fastening, falling... and that extended metaphor.

Jim Jordan: local poet. Inspired by W.S. Merwin, the word "unrepeatable" is associated with watching clouds, where as here, it is the glorious gold of black walnut falling.  There is something rendered precious when you think, this will never happen again.