Looking down the broad avenue
a strange tidal river runs
of cars, trucks and bicycles
flowing into the city
with the gravity of commerce;
wires and cables cross tall trees
driven to the pavement,
supporting a tangle of electricity.
I look past the roar and metal
to the distant sky, yet wonder
about these solitary poles
indentured in servitude,
shorn of root and branch
but standing in tight whorls of age,
bearing the weight of industry
yet sentient in their isolation.
Invisible roots push down,
leaves of imagination flutter
with the lost breath of a hillside,
the gentle sway of wind and season,
a memory of life for those who have forgotten.
How poignant! And a reminder of our civilization’s separation from the beauty of Nature’s wise design….
The vibrational branches still reach skyward, roots deep in earth, as these trees still keep watch.
As do we.
There are many giants in the land.
As are we.
Remembered greatness surrounds all life on Earth.
Speaks to me.
“Like a vessel
displacing water
poetry creates a void
to take us places”
Beautiful – servitude, sentient, solitary, still rooted, still heavenward. Reminds me D.H. Lawrence’s line, “I never saw a wild thing sorry for itself.”
The imagery in your poem reminds me of the movie “Koyanasqatsi” (sp?) and the evocative power of the images in that film. Simply understanding (as shown in your words) helps to hold the elements of this world in a gentle way. I love the phrasing in this poem!
I grok how you are one of our sentinels… your words lining our consciousness while calling us back to our Spiritual roots. Thanks for all you do and are.
My thoughts often follow the same flow when I admire the mighty night sky, illuminated by the wonder of stars and moon and then I see the attempted reproduction of lights through electricity on earth……..how good not to forget original source!
Touching.
I love the line “the lost breath of a hillside”.
Melancholic yet hopeful….a very fine poem!
Amazing imagery……….
Thailand is exceptionally remarkable for its vast, deciduous forests, the density of which is mostly too dense for even a solitary foot traveler. So loved are trees in this culture, none are used for utilitiy poles–only concrete poles; not even for fenceposts. I see the highest use in the building of homes where love and family and community are nurtured.
These Thai sentinals dwarf any north american trees i know, save for the giant redwoods.
You captured an essence of life remaining, still, in the heart of a tree. And how, even tho we perceive it as ‘a naked pole” it’s elemental nature continues to be expressed. Lovely.
Sentinels evokes from me a wonderful appreciation for your keen eye….seeing things that others might miss.
Love, David