Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Relentless



The winds chopped down our cherry tree
littered the ground with the infant fruit

Splintering the erections of man's efforts
where will we go when the wind stops?

Children climb limbs like monkey bars
if only shelter could they give

Elegant designs and power lines
weighed down beneath the trunk of it

This is but the calm, 
before the one that wants to claim us

Gather near, dear ones,
stretch this house of skin

I will weather this tempest and keep you from it
though mothers are not made of stone




This poem was my contribution for One Shot Wednesday
If you be of a poetic persuasion come and join us!

24 comments:

  1. Wow Apryl! From the looks of the picture I believe this is based on facts, recent facts. You have beautifully expressed both the physical qualities of what you have experienced...

    "The winds chopped down our cherry tree
    littered the ground with the infant fruit"

    but then you have expanded wonderfully to a metaphorical look
    and your word choices are so right...

    "stretch this house of skin" and
    "mothers are not made of stone"

    (And I do hope you are all okay)

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  2. Beautiful.
    I hope you are safe, and I am sorry about your cherry tree .

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  3. Hey Apryl,

    Loved these lines:

    "Gather near, dear ones,
    stretch this house of skin"

    So sad... we have about 100 trees dead on our 11 acres. Elm beetle, a flood a few years back, and strong winds have devastated our beautiful property. I focus on the underbrush knowing one day God will replace our mature stand of dying trees.

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  4. boom...wicked way with words...splintering the erections was a rather explosive thought...smiles. stretching the house of skin was as well...great piece apryl...and yeah sorry about the tree, makes me sad not to have cherries...we used to have one in our yard growing up...

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  5. no - mothers are made of flesh, blood and lots of love... loved the stretching the house of skin and almost glad the tree fell and inspired you to write such a nice poem...but of course i'm sad you don't have cherries..one of my fav fruits..

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  6. I'm touched by the beuaty of your heart of a mother... skin stretching to protect...

    lovely

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  7. We've been battered by the wind this week as well. Calm today but expecting more to come. Your poem expressed the experience so well.

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  8. lovely hope the storms have abated ...thank you for sharing

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  9. @Tolbert, thank you for your kind words and concern. We're all fine, thankfully. I think that's the progression of devastation and reflection and the metaphorical bridging of the two through art. I'm so glad you stopped to comment.

    @Ayala thank you, we're all fine, thanks for your comment, I'm glad we still have one cherry tree left, one of three.

    @Patricia, thank you sweet one, I pray for the restoration of "what the locusts have taken" for your property, blessings to you.

    @Brian, it's not a oneshotwednesday without your words my friend. Thank you for your kindness and encouragement. I am thankful for your words and the way you spin them.

    @Claudia, You know it, I don't think I realized as a woman how vulnerable I was until I had children. I'm just hoping the storms leave me the last of the cherry trees, who knows I'll write another poem if it does lol

    @HisFirefly, thank you for your kind words, and for taking the time to comment, much appreciated.

    @Victoria, we're expecting yet more storms. I do hope you're through with yours.

    @Kez, thank you for your comment, we shall see by tomorrow how things in this part of the world are, more storms a comin' :)

    I hope those in the path of these storms find shelter and that the hand of devastation is kept far from them. Blessings, ~Apryl

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  10. Aww....so much for a mother's love. I love the thought of this poem. Well done.

    Bless!

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  11. You express what every parent wants to say, and to believe, even though none of us are "made of stone." Good poem.

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  12. Love these two lines:
    "Gather near, dear ones,
    stretch this house of skin"

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  13. I absolutely love the way the 3rd and 4th stanza rhyme together! Overall, a really good poem. You write couplets very well.

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  14. I love this one - This stanza gave me a special feel:

    "Gather near, dear ones,
    stretch this house of skin."

    The speaker gives great strength.

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  15. @lordemmanuel, thank you sir for your comment, it's much appreciated. Blessings to you!

    @Glynn, sometimes I know we wish were were made of the stuff that nothing and no one can penetrate. Thank you for your kind words :)

    @marousia, Thank You!

    @Adam, I appreciate your words, form isn't always my strong suite, but I do love my couplets ;) Thank you for your comment.

    @Carl, Thank you for your comment and for stopping by the blog, hope to see more of you.

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  16. Strange the ways that nature has to inspire us!

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  17. "stretch this house of skin"

    That was my favorite line too. :)

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  18. @John, Nature is one of the greatest inspirations for me, I love to go on hikes. For better or hazardous it provokes human consciousness. Thanks for the comment.

    @L.L. Thanks for taking the time to stop and comment. Blessings!

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  19. A cruel wind blown, and one all good parents do strive to shield their children from. Potent piece for any parents, I think, getting down deep into their thoughts.

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  20. Chris,
    Thanks for the comment. We do tend to want to shelter our kids, even if it's not always appropriate. Thanks for stopping by

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  21. Yes, you are right we mums are not made of stone, but a really rough material as well as of a thin and sensitive one, like silk to wood...

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  22. Thank you for stopping by Sweet One. Dulce you're right, I know that sometimes I feel like my skin is made of paper. Blessings to you today :)

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  23. "stretch this house of skin"

    exquisite wording. love it.

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  24. Thank you Emily, for taking the time to stop and comment and for your kind words. ~Blessings.

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