Poems from a Pensive Poet
Viewing comments for Chapter 11 "Ode to a Hickory Stump"Verses from my heart
26 total reviews
Comment from janalma
Good poem. Well written, I think. Seems to have the proper cadence and does not sound forced anywhere. Just a concise but colorful telling of the tree's life and death. You pretty much covered all of the wonderful things about a tree so it truly is an ode.
"Your roots still hug the earth('s) sweet crust." You think?
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2013
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Good poem. Well written, I think. Seems to have the proper cadence and does not sound forced anywhere. Just a concise but colorful telling of the tree's life and death. You pretty much covered all of the wonderful things about a tree so it truly is an ode.
"Your roots still hug the earth('s) sweet crust." You think?
Comment Written 21-Aug-2013
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2013
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THank you so much for the review and comments on this poem. I so glad you caught the spag. Yes, I meant to write earth's.
Beth
Comment from mrskristinball
Wow! I smiled as I read your entire Ode to the Hickory Stump. What I normally anticipate as a sad style of poetry, your Ode sang of life in all it's splendor, and then, wrapped it up in a perfect lesson to share; the lesson of our worth and value no matter what our limitations. What a joyful Ode; I enjoyed its rhythm, style, and message very much.
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2013
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Wow! I smiled as I read your entire Ode to the Hickory Stump. What I normally anticipate as a sad style of poetry, your Ode sang of life in all it's splendor, and then, wrapped it up in a perfect lesson to share; the lesson of our worth and value no matter what our limitations. What a joyful Ode; I enjoyed its rhythm, style, and message very much.
Comment Written 20-Aug-2013
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2013
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Thank you so much for the six star review. I really appreciate your lovely comments. I'm so glad you liked this poem.
Beth
Comment from Mastery
Hi, Beth. You have a wonderful entry here. It's simplistic yet very colorful with your choice of words throughout:
"Your roots still hug the earth sweet crust
long after sap has ceased to flow.
Your trunk once sturdy, strong, and straight
was severed by wind's mighty blow"Bravo, my friend. Bob
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2013
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Hi, Beth. You have a wonderful entry here. It's simplistic yet very colorful with your choice of words throughout:
"Your roots still hug the earth sweet crust
long after sap has ceased to flow.
Your trunk once sturdy, strong, and straight
was severed by wind's mighty blow"Bravo, my friend. Bob
Comment Written 20-Aug-2013
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2013
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Hi Bob,
Thanks so much for the six star review. I'm so glad you liked this little poem.
Beth
Comment from Donald O. Cassidy
A true-to-life Ode, Beth, and well done.
You describe the hickory tree vividly, too. I'm used to seeing these and other trees as prey of the winds.. I know just how strands of a big plant like this preserve life in their root even after destructiion of the main body has fallen.. Yes, even the stump serves some purpose for years.
This must have been a scale bark (shell?) bark hickory, because that's the kind that bears nuts.
Don
reply by the author on 20-Aug-2013
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A true-to-life Ode, Beth, and well done.
You describe the hickory tree vividly, too. I'm used to seeing these and other trees as prey of the winds.. I know just how strands of a big plant like this preserve life in their root even after destructiion of the main body has fallen.. Yes, even the stump serves some purpose for years.
This must have been a scale bark (shell?) bark hickory, because that's the kind that bears nuts.
Don
Comment Written 20-Aug-2013
reply by the author on 20-Aug-2013
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Thank you Don,
I really appreciate the review and comments. It did have nuts so I guess it was the scale bark. All I now about Hickory trees is they ave beautiful yellow follage in the fall and I keep stepping on the nuts the squirrels have cracked open.
Beth
Comment from zanya
An interesting reflection on 'usefulness' inspired by a tree stump. Great pic.Honing inspiration from the remains of a tree is truly a visit from the Muse. Well done.
reply by the author on 19-Aug-2013
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An interesting reflection on 'usefulness' inspired by a tree stump. Great pic.Honing inspiration from the remains of a tree is truly a visit from the Muse. Well done.
Comment Written 19-Aug-2013
reply by the author on 19-Aug-2013
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Thank you so much for the review and the great comments.
Yeah, my muse is be odd somethings. LOL
Beth
Comment from Samuel Dickens
The trunk of a tree, as you pointed out, is often a good and useful thing, but metaphorically, its usefulness and purpose is multiplied. When I die, I guess only buzzards would visit me if left in the yard. (That's a joke)
reply by the author on 19-Aug-2013
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The trunk of a tree, as you pointed out, is often a good and useful thing, but metaphorically, its usefulness and purpose is multiplied. When I die, I guess only buzzards would visit me if left in the yard. (That's a joke)
Comment Written 19-Aug-2013
reply by the author on 19-Aug-2013
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Thank you Samuel. I appreciate the review and funny comments.
Beth
Comment from Connie C
How very clever to use the stump as a metaphor for life and how we should continue to "serve and never question why" as long as there is some life left. At least, that's how I read this, and I really like it. Your poem is filled with perfect rhyme and a perfect message.
My best to you.
Connie
reply by the author on 19-Aug-2013
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How very clever to use the stump as a metaphor for life and how we should continue to "serve and never question why" as long as there is some life left. At least, that's how I read this, and I really like it. Your poem is filled with perfect rhyme and a perfect message.
My best to you.
Connie
Comment Written 19-Aug-2013
reply by the author on 19-Aug-2013
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Thank you Connie. I really appreciate the six star review and the comments. You read the poem the way I intended it to be understood.
Beth
Comment from cvcopac
You know, I can't think of a more fitting service than an old tree stump, particularly a Hickory stump. Beautifully exalted, and I enjoyed the read. Best of luck in the contest. Kenny
reply by the author on 19-Aug-2013
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You know, I can't think of a more fitting service than an old tree stump, particularly a Hickory stump. Beautifully exalted, and I enjoyed the read. Best of luck in the contest. Kenny
Comment Written 19-Aug-2013
reply by the author on 19-Aug-2013
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Thank you so much for the review and the nice comments. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
Beth
Comment from humpwhistle
I really like the sentiment here, Beth. Nature was
the first re-purposer. Forgive me, but the third and
fourth stanzas pretty much say the same thing. But I love your reference to earth's sweet crust--don't want to lose that line.
Peace, Lee
reply by the author on 19-Aug-2013
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I really like the sentiment here, Beth. Nature was
the first re-purposer. Forgive me, but the third and
fourth stanzas pretty much say the same thing. But I love your reference to earth's sweet crust--don't want to lose that line.
Peace, Lee
Comment Written 19-Aug-2013
reply by the author on 19-Aug-2013
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Thank you for the review and comments and suggestions Lee. You are right. I wrote that fourth stanza first. Then after I finished the poem I decided I wanted to include it. I didn't realize how much like the other it was. I'll work on it.
Beth
Comment from AprilShower
Nice poem for what once was a lovely tree. We can grow to love our trees and when something happens to them, we feel awful.
We have mourned for a tree. Our tree was the reason we bought land to build a house. We thought it would make lovely shade tree. We managed to have a nice picnic under it with family the second year after our house was built. Then it started to die. Then every time we would have a storm it left it's branches everywhere. It got so bad, we had to have it cut down, for we feared it would eventually fall and cause a lot of damage. We had to have professionals cut it down. It was very costly to have a tree, such as it, cut down, for it was very old, big, and tall, and when we bought the land, was also majestic. We figured the landscapers killed it by disturbing its root system.
Oh, we also have a plastic owl that looks exactly like the owl on your stump, too.
Well done, Beth.
April :o)
reply by the author on 19-Aug-2013
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Nice poem for what once was a lovely tree. We can grow to love our trees and when something happens to them, we feel awful.
We have mourned for a tree. Our tree was the reason we bought land to build a house. We thought it would make lovely shade tree. We managed to have a nice picnic under it with family the second year after our house was built. Then it started to die. Then every time we would have a storm it left it's branches everywhere. It got so bad, we had to have it cut down, for we feared it would eventually fall and cause a lot of damage. We had to have professionals cut it down. It was very costly to have a tree, such as it, cut down, for it was very old, big, and tall, and when we bought the land, was also majestic. We figured the landscapers killed it by disturbing its root system.
Oh, we also have a plastic owl that looks exactly like the owl on your stump, too.
Well done, Beth.
April :o)
Comment Written 19-Aug-2013
reply by the author on 19-Aug-2013
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Thank you so much for the six star review and the comments. I feel the same way about trees. We live on nineteen acres and we had about fifty trees go down. I really miss the ones near the house that were so beautiful in the fall. The plastic owl isn't really keeping the pests out of our garden. I need something that moves and hoots. LOL
Beth
