Willow Tree – a tanka – from a tree’s perspective

I admired this large willow tree on a friend’s lawn. But a much smaller one by my front porch inspired this tanka, and the one that followed.

WILLOW TREE
An Overflowing Fountain of Green

Willow Tree Whispers
People say … Weeping Willow
But I’m not crying

Just bowing down … to the Earth
Kissing the ground … with my leaves

Ken Chawkin
Fairfield, Iowa
May 2010

Also see: Friendship – another tree tanka, Willow Tree Tanka II,
What Do Trees Do?, and trees—a poem about the nature of trees

The poem was later published with a tree photo and audio of me reciting it in the July 2017 issue of Conch.es: Willow Tree—by Ken Chawkin.

A year or two later I read a haiku, Be Spring, followed by Willow Tree, on Sheila Moschen’s Let Your Heart Sing, Variety Show #61.

This entry was posted on May 27, 2010 at 4:57 pm and is filed under My poems, Poetry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

14 Responses to “Willow Tree – a tanka – from a tree’s perspective”

Carla Brown, Ed.D. Says:
May 28, 2010 at 10:27 am | Reply
Lovely, just like the willow

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Pablo Garrido Says:
May 28, 2010 at 4:50 pm | Reply
It is a supreme perception beautifully described.

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Dawn Grimmer Says:
May 29, 2010 at 1:08 pm | Reply
Beautiful imagery – very evocative and enjoyable.

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debbie Weberg Says:
May 30, 2010 at 9:21 am | Reply
Lovely poem, so simple yet immensly profound.

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Christine Boxerman Says:
May 30, 2010 at 9:38 am | Reply
Very beautiful. It drew me in. I wanted it to continue and continue.

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Willow Tree Tanka II « The Uncarved Blog Says:
October 3, 2011 at 9:31 pm | Reply
[…] the first poem: Willow Tree – a tanka – from a tree’s perspective. GA_googleAddAttr("AdOpt", "1"); GA_googleAddAttr("Origin", "other"); […]

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Being in Nature « The Uncarved Blog Says:
January 23, 2012 at 4:11 pm | Reply
[…] see What Do Trees Do? Something to think about, Willow Tree – a tanka – from a tree’s perspective, and Friendship – another tree tanka. Share […]

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trees—a poem about the nature of trees « The Uncarved Blog Says:
January 23, 2012 at 4:29 pm | Reply
[…] see What Do Trees Do? Something to think about, Willow Tree – a tanka – from a tree’s perspective, and Friendship – another tree tanka. Advertisement GA_googleAddAttr("AdOpt", "1"); […]

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Vancouver Park Poems by Ken Chawkin « The Uncarved Blog Says:
January 23, 2012 at 4:41 pm | Reply
[…] written when I was living in North Vancouver; and these two more recent poems from Fairfield, Iowa: Willow Tree – a tanka – from a tree’s perspective, and Friendship – another tree tanka, about two trees in front of my […]

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Margot Suettmann Says:
August 29, 2012 at 9:48 pm | Reply
Just beautiful, the haiku and the photo of this Willow Tree!!! A waterfall of leaves….

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- Ken Chawkin Says:
  November 30, 2017 at 3:24 pm | Reply
  Thank you, Margot. BTW, this poem is a tanka, which combines the haiku with a hoku. Also see this poem with another beautiful willow tree posted on Paul Stokstad’s Conch.es website along with an audio file of me reading the poem: https://conch.es/willow-tree-by-ken-chawkin/.
  
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My Son’s Sensei: A Tanka about my son’s Aikido teacher « The Uncarved Blog Says:
November 16, 2012 at 1:53 am | Reply
[…] See INSPIRATION, a poem by Nathanael Chawkin and Willow Tree – a tanka – from a tree’s perspective. […]

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Linlin Says:
December 21, 2013 at 8:56 pm | Reply
Beautiful… Thanks for creating such inspiring poems.

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Japanese culture: poetic aesthetics, artistry, and martial arts, inspired me to write haiku and tanka | The Uncarved Blog Says:
January 9, 2021 at 7:34 pm | Reply
[…] Willow TreeAn Overflowing Fountain of Green […]

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