Today’s mentor poem for me is called The Things by Donald Hall.
As often happens when I pick a mentor poem I don’t try to follow a form or idea exactly but rather use the mentor poem as a jumping off point for something new for me. Instead of looking inside my house, I looked outside my back door to the huge Japanese Maple tree that sits outside my office. It is the only plant growing in my backyard that is not a California native plant but it is such a large tree, that we let it stay. The vines that I planted, are one of the few true vines in California native plants. And the butterflies I wait for are the Pipevine Swallowtails, whose only food are these vines, and who used to be prevalent in my area but whose numbers have dwindled greatly over the years. I have no butterflies, yet.
Here’s my rough draft.
The Garden
When I step outside I see a giant Japanese maple
planted near full grown by another family
lowered by a crane over the top of my tall home
because impatience
was the food they used to fertilize most everything.
A tree, healthy, green, growing tall,
wide enough to shade the patio and my office
and just kiss the edge of the roof,
a beautiful specimen but it’s not mine
even though its roots tunnel throughout my yard,
I did not nurture it through drought and frost
and I curse the tiny seedlings that sprout everywhere
but in spring it fills with birds who nest and sing
so I let it stay and plant pipevines at the base
and encourage the vines
to travel up the trunk and across the branches
like tentacles dripping with funny pipe-shaped blossoms
while I stand in the shade of the massive maple
and wait for butterflies.
Susan Taylor Brown
I love the ‘story’ of the tree, that already “kisses the edge of the roof” & that you state it is not yours, but keep it for the birds, adding in your own part of nature in your garden. It’s lovely, Susan.
Thanks Linda, I am trying to make the tree more mine, even it it wasn’t my first (or second choice). Lots of inspiration in my garden.
Susan,
A great poet to use for a mentor. I love some of the language of this. “lowered by crane, and impatience for fertilizer–wonderful.
Thanks so much for stopping by Joy. I’m looking forward to playing with this one some more, tweaking it up to the next level.
I feel your love of art and nature and and beauty in this poem. I am sure there will be butterflies. Maybe they will even sing.
Thank you, Janet. I continue to hope for these particular butterflies, someday.
ME
Things you learn about yourself
If you open your heart
Look down deep in your soul
Be honest to your very core
It is hard to forgive myself
This I must do – to move on
To evolve into a brighter future
Without suffering and pain
Attract the positiveness
Eliminate negative influence
reinvent myself
To become someone I love
Hating yourself each day
Involves too much hard work
I need things in my life
Which make me feel whole
The things I need include
Love, joy and happiness
So I can begin to grow
Into the person I long to be
– Anne McKenna
I love this line a lot, Anne:
“I need things in my life
Which make me feel whole”
Nice job.