The prompt for the local poetry group was Public speech
The prompt for Poets and storytellers United was to be inspired by a dead tree
So naturally my dead tree is giving a TED talk 😂
The poem is linked to DVerse Poets
OpenLinkNight #408
Life Is Simple
TED Talk by a dead tree
He drops his last dead leaf,
gnarled fingers unclenching,
scraping his ancient throat.
He looks at the audience.
Humans
Restless
Scrolling
Then he begins
Stop, people
Just stop
I have watched you for centuries.
You pass me
like weather through bone
heads down,
hearts elsewhere.
Meanwhile,
my tangled roots
prepare for the coming spring.
Flowers rise
from my rotten bark.
Life breathes
through my hollow skeleton
every single day.
So stop.
Inhale the oxygen
I have spent my whole life exhaling.
Everything is entangled.
You are not separate from this dance.
Connect.
The sky remembers you.
The earth will carry you.
Life is simple.
Wonderful imagery, feeling, and message!
ReplyDeleteOh, and language of course!
ReplyDeleteA wonderfully strong poem - in images and words - if only we could listen more to the world around us - Jae
ReplyDelete"Everything is entangled. You are not separate from this dance."
ReplyDeleteOh, that is so true!
Lindo e impressionante ,tão verdadeiro discurso! Ficou nota mil!! beijos, chica
ReplyDeleteThe sentiments from this tree are really clever. Nice one
ReplyDeleteThanks for dropping by my blog
Much love
I especially like; "Meanwhile, my tangled roots prepare for the coming spring." A lovely introspective poem.
ReplyDeleteGood wisdom. We should all stop and see world around us more often.
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day.
I like "Everything is entangled...Connect." That is what trees silently say!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful, resonant words.
ReplyDeleteIf only we paused more often to hear what the world, and even its silent trees, are trying to tell us. 🌿
It’s good advice. Stop for a while, take in your surroundings, enjoy and appreciate the interplay of all life, and understand that nothing really dies. It is all recycled to begin life anew.
ReplyDeleteI love this message:
ReplyDeleteSo stop.
Inhale the oxygen
I have spent my whole life exhaling.
Luckily, I think those of us who write poetry usually do observe nature's details...or at least more than most.
ReplyDeleteVery beautifully said that everything is entangled.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that none of us are separate from the dance.
Nature and us are not separate. Beautiful message.
ReplyDeleteI love this idea. I wish some trees could give TED Talks!
ReplyDeleteOh we are part of the tree... so stopping up makes sense
ReplyDeleteExcellent wisdom.
ReplyDeleteSo profound! I just touched a cottonwood tree that I call, "The Twins." Because it is conjoined, or separated into two huge trunks. I always touch it when I go by. Trees are the most majestic plants in the world.
ReplyDeleteA Ted Talk for the ages! Committing your write to as much memory as I may have left LOL.
ReplyDeleteeverything is entangled, like it or not
ReplyDeleteThis is brilliant, Marja! And, I love that tree.
ReplyDelete