Tree

[daka]

THE TREE

I looked for the tree
One day in my yard
I tell you I tried
I tried very hard

But I couldn't find it
'Cause it wasn't there
I looked and I looked
I looked everywhere

Oh where is my tree
Now where can it be
So single and solid
And solitary

I thought I had found it
When I found a twig
Then I remembered
That my tree was big

I looked at a leaf
And thought it was good
Then I remembered
That it wasn't wood

I found the trunk
Now on a roll
But I realized
“It's only a pole”

I picked off a bud
But it's clear to see
This certainly isn't
A tree to me

I found all the parts
I looked every place
And then I stood staring
Off into space

Oh where is my tree
Now where can it be
So single and solid
And solitary

sean

[iveta]

Thank you, it was most poignant and attractive, with its strong rhytm and simple words...
One almost sensually feels the loss, the fragility of life and living nature.

...reminds me michell's yellow taxi...would make a wonderful song...
Good luck with writing great lyrics for great singer one day.

i
i

[Steven]

Hi Daka,

The tree can be taken as being representative of insubstantiality, unless someone reads into the poem
that the parts that were found are holographic representations of the whole.

[Violet]

THE TREE

I looked for the tree
One day in my yard
I tell you I tried
I tried very hard

But I couldn't find it
'Cause it wasn't there
I looked and I looked
I looked everywhere

Oh where is my tree
Now where can it be
So single and solid
And solitary

I thought I had found it
When I found a twig
Then I remembered
That my tree was big

I looked at a leaf
And thought it was good
Then I remembered
That it wasn't wood

I found the trunk
Now on a roll
But I realized
“It's only a pole”

I picked off a bud
But it's clear to see
This certainly isn't
A tree to me

I found all the parts
I looked every place
And then I stood staring
Off into space

Oh where is my tree
Now where can it be
So single and solid
And solitary

sean

.. Sean.. I liked reading this very much.. it's indeed "true to form".. its sweet simplicity, and open mystery go hand in hand, I find..
v.

[Boss]

Sometimes all the parts do not make the whole.
A profound piece. It feels that often in Life we dissect,
categorize - and just don't appreciate the All.

Thanks,
Boss

[Steven]

Hi Boss,

You said it well about fragmentation, Fragmentation can sometimes be a bad thing. Glad to see you back here.

[carm]

daka writes:

Oh where is my tree
Now where can it be
So single and solid
And solitary

As I read the poem, its insipid language forced me into a mode of extreme simplicity. I almost became bored in its commonplaceness and lifelessness. But then I thought that perhaps therein lay the genius of the poem.

The conjuration of the poem comes by way of its use of a certain lucid language. A vivid conception is united with the power of graphic expression by means of an intelligibly light grounded language. As a result, it produced an awareness of the ways in which nature and language interflow in such simple communion, and yet even from such modest monotony, a certain consciousness towards Creation itself is made manifest.

I suppose if we let ourselves become what is written by allowing ourselves to feel what we feel in that state, then surely we can gain a better understanding of a poem because once in that state we become more aware.

The tree is lost to us and we begin to miss everything it once was, when it existed, rooted in the earth as a whole. The tree is gone and what is left is nameless, unimagined in the poem's black and white. It is important that we learn to keep our eyes open wide to the graces of today, in all their simplicity, because tomorrow we may be robbed of their essence.

I know you once existed
But where are you?
I feel your presence
but I can't see you.
I cant find you
and I do miss you.

Perhaps the concept of the tree illustrates a mystical concept alluding to the interconnectedness of all life?

I am curious as to what kind of tree is spoken of in this poem and am reminded of the the great ash tree that holds together earth, heaven, and hell by its roots and branches in Norse mythology called the Yggdrasil, the great tree of the world. Its branches and roots extended through all the universe — the heavens, the earth, and the underworld. At its top sat an eagle, at its bottom twined a serpent, and between them ran a squirrel breeding discord. It was prophesied that at the doom of the gods the tree would be destroyed.

Myth is the foundation of life; it is the timeless pattern, the religious formula to which life shapes itself…Whereas in the life of mankind the mythical represents an early and primitive stage, in the life of an individual it represents a late and mature one.
– Thomas Mann

[daka]

I am curious as to what kind of tree is spoken of in this poem

Thanks for your comments Carm.

I had not seen the latest replies to this thread for some reason and just revisited the thread this evening. I had completely forgotten about this little poem and am very glad to have found it again (I don't think I saved it anywhere).

The kind of tree that is spoken of is simply the tree that appears to the mind. That tree is unfindable. This "ultimate truth" of all phenomena has mesmerized me for 18 years. Nearly all the poems and songs that I write relate to this theme. You can't point to the tree without pointing to a part of the tree. The parts of the tree are not the tree (certainly they are not the tree that appears to the mind). The tree that appears to the mind is a mental fabrication, nothing more, nothing less...just like in a dream. Our reality is like this. Our life is like a dream.
There are two possible reactions to this dawning wisdom: one curls up in the fetal position or one jumps for joy, and both are valid, indicating that a wisdom path has been found.

I recently wrote another poem (more of a song) on the same theme and I offer it here (will post in main members' poetry section also:

DAYTIME DREAMS

daytime dreams of worlds unseen
everything under the sun
seen by eyes believing lies
seen by everyone
everything under the sun
believed by everyone
everything under the sun
seen by everyone

everything seems to be over there
far away from my mind
then when I go searching around
there's nothing for me to find
anywhere outside my mind
nothing for me to find
anywhere outside my mind
there's nothing for me to find

every moment of mind is mistaken
nothing's the way that it seems
every moment of mine mistaken
just like in a dream
nothing's the way that it seems
just like in a dream
nothing's the way that it seems
just like in a dream

sean

[daka]

Now I have been looking at other tree-related poems in my files and found this one which I will share too:

Tree 2

No one has ever seen a tree
A wiser man once said
To many people, not just me.
This sank into our head
Like a leaden stone of sorts
Or a woolly blanket fog
In a volley of retorts
Mired in mental bog

Me here, tree there
And space in between
And how do they dare
To teach the unseen?
This is the common worldly view
Of how things do exist
The gap between the things and you
Tough logic to resist

This confused complexity
Of how it all can be
Relationships in kind
Between the tree, the eye, the mind
It's not as simple as it seems
(something to do with dreams)

sean

[lizzytysh]

love

[Byron]

sean, you are teaching us 'existence.'
Thank you.