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.
May 28, 2010 at 10:27 am |
Lovely, just like the willow
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 28, 2010 at 4:50 pm |
It is a supreme perception beautifully described.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 29, 2010 at 1:08 pm |
Beautiful imagery – very evocative and enjoyable.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 30, 2010 at 9:21 am |
Lovely poem, so simple yet immensly profound.
LikeLiked by 1 person
May 30, 2010 at 9:38 am |
Very beautiful. It drew me in. I wanted it to continue and continue.
LikeLiked by 1 person
October 3, 2011 at 9:31 pm |
[…] the first poem: Willow Tree – a tanka – from a tree’s perspective. GA_googleAddAttr("AdOpt", "1"); GA_googleAddAttr("Origin", "other"); […]
LikeLike
January 23, 2012 at 4:11 pm |
[…] see What Do Trees Do? Something to think about, Willow Tree – a tanka – from a tree’s perspective, and Friendship – another tree tanka. Share […]
LikeLike
January 23, 2012 at 4:29 pm |
[…] 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"); […]
LikeLike
January 23, 2012 at 4:41 pm |
[…] 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 […]
LikeLike
August 29, 2012 at 9:48 pm |
Just beautiful, the haiku and the photo of this Willow Tree!!! A waterfall of leaves….
LikeLiked by 1 person
November 30, 2017 at 3:24 pm |
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/.
LikeLike
November 16, 2012 at 1:53 am |
[…] See INSPIRATION, a poem by Nathanael Chawkin and Willow Tree – a tanka – from a tree’s perspective. […]
LikeLike
December 21, 2013 at 8:56 pm |
Beautiful… Thanks for creating such inspiring poems.
LikeLiked by 1 person
January 9, 2021 at 7:34 pm |
[…] Willow TreeAn Overflowing Fountain of Green […]
LikeLike