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Posts Tagged ‘cypress tree’

Poetry Friday is hosted today by Irene Latham at Live Your Poem.

National Poetry Month has been a whirlwind. It’s hard to believe we are nearing the end. Our Progressive Poem is progressing along with another line; See Mary Lee’s post here to catch up. Tabatha will end it for us on April 28th.

I accepted a challenge from Joyce Uglow to write among other poets at her Substack, Storied Ink. I’m also writing with Ethical ELA and having a dickens of a time memorizing the New York Times poem “The More Loving One” by W. H. Auden. It’s all good but sometimes overwhelming. I think I’ll take a break in May!

On Day 3, poet Kathy Halsey challenged us with a haiku image and the words extinct and giraffe. I thought about how the cypress trees of the Atchafalaya Swamp were near extinction from over-harvesting. These trees are made to survive high winds of hurricanes. I love my cypress trees, especially in early spring as the green is so vivid.

Tall swamp giraffes
Cypress grass tickles the sky
Extinct no more
(Photos from my bayou backyard cypress trees)

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Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

New growth on cypress.

New growth on cypress.

After all the grey clouds and rain, rain, rain,
green appeared today,
waking up from a long sleep,
twinkling in the sunlight.

The cypress trees are happy now,
their toes dipped in the water,
their needles as bright
as a neon sign.

“We’re waking up!” they say.
“Come see our new growth
soft as a baby’s forehead,
sweet as honeysuckle.”

Even the weeds are perky today,
pushing out tall stalks
beyond the brown grass,
topped with yellow buttercups.

Turn off your worrying mind.
It’s a day to open
windows and sneeze
Hello to Spring!

Resurrection fern on the old cypress.

Resurrection fern on the old cypress.

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Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

Join the Two Writing Teachers blog for March Slice of Life Challenge.

In February I took Kim Douillard’s photo challenge “One Tree.” I photographed and wrote a poem about  our  grandmother oak. Today I took pictures of another old tree. This one is a century-old cypress. It sits in the back surrounded by our deck. I can see it from my living room windows.

Cypress 1

Cypress 1

Late winter sky
branches bare
reaching upward
in arabesque.

Cypress 2

Cypress 2

Beauty builds in bold lines.
The cat climbs
crouches on a wide branch,
waiting.

Cypress 3

Cypress 3

Whispers of wind
move wind chimes
watch the weather
and sense the day’s calm breath.

Cypress 4

Cypress 4

This old tree cradles my bones,
my health, my heart.
Soon fresh citrus green will appear.
Showing me that life returns
again and again.

–Margaret Simon

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