Since we’re on the subject of trees, and comments about them, here’s something I wrote about 15 years ago when I was living in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I was renting an upstairs room in a boarding house. Looking outside my window onto the backyard I saw the tops of large evergreen trees. I remembered reading about the special qualities of trees, and with the destruction of forests, decided to tell their story in the form of a childlike rhyme—a nursery rhyme for adults. Something to think about……
What Do Trees Do?
What do trees do?
I wonder? Do you?
We purify water. We purify air.
We take all the stress out of the atmosphere.
We store up the knowledge of all of the ages.
We acknowledge the gifts of all of the sages.
They kept cool and rested under our arms.
We were their shelter from all of life’s harms.
We hold up your children as they swing on our boughs.
When it rains, we keep animals dry, especially cows.
We give you our wood to build for your homes.
We make room for squirrels, birds, elves, and gnomes.
We give you sweet fruits and nuts to eat
And rock your babies gently to sleep.
We communicate with stars and bring down their light
And make sure you’re sleeping safely all through the night.
So the next time you’re planning to cut us all down,
Just think; all the good things we do, won’t be around.
And eventually neither will you.
I added this ‘cuz it’s true!
—Ken Chawkin
You can hear me read this poem on Let Your Heart Sing Radio Show #70.
Also see: Willow Tree – a tanka – from a tree’s perspective. I also read that poem on Sheila Moschen’s Let Your Heart Sing, Variety Show #61.
And: Friendship – another tree tanka, which I read on Sheila Moschen’s Let Your Heart Sing, Variety Show #76.
Tags: conservation, forests, global warming, trees
The Uncarved Blog 
August 2, 2010 at 12:59 pm |
nice work and nice heart, Kenny-
LikeLike
August 2, 2010 at 3:46 pm |
here is another favorite of mine..this is by Rilke, translated by Byron Katie’s husband..translations are very different, this one is my favorite by a mile
I find you Lord in all things
in all my fellow creatures, pulsing with your life
As a tiny seed you sleep in what is small
And in the Vast you vastly yield yourself
The wondrous game that Power plays with Things
is to move in such submission through the world
groping in roots and growing thick in trunks
and in treetops, like a rising from the dead
LikeLiked by 1 person
January 11, 2021 at 9:26 am |
Thanks, Carol, it’s beautiful. These two poems by Mary Oliver and one by William Stafford also describe the awakening and nurturing power of rainwater on deeper aspects of nature. https://theuncarvedblog.com/2019/03/13/the-nurturing-effect-of-rainwater-in-mary-olivers-poems-lingering-in-happiness-at-blackwater-pond/
LikeLike
August 3, 2010 at 10:13 am |
Hey Ken,
How are you doing? That’s a very cool piece on trees…My best Taz
LikeLike
August 3, 2010 at 9:23 pm |
Hi Taz,
Glad you like it. I’m fine.
Thanks,
Ken
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. […]
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. […]
LikeLike
January 23, 2012 at 4:41 pm |
[…] we’re on a favorite topic, trees, see What Do Trees Do? Something to think about, also written when I was living in North Vancouver; and these two more recent poems from Fairfield, […]
LikeLike
June 27, 2014 at 9:28 pm |
[…] remember when it happened to me, living alone in a room I was renting in a house in North Vancouver. I finally let go of all the distracting reasons to search for happiness outside myself, in wanting […]
LikeLike