Wednesday, December 2, 2009

the evergreen fool

delwyn posted
about our connection to the metaphor of tree.
she approached it with depth and substance.
and so it was more real.

daniel dove "evergreen" 2007

james emmanuel
traces something of the tree
inside of me.
the fool
not the idiot
but the king's fool.
the valued role
each of us
needs to play
or be . . .
for someone else.
that lets us
or them
see
themselves
or ourselves
in
relief.
in our
disbelief.
in our
grief.
full of
mischief!

a fool for evergreen
a little bit of fool in me
hides behind my inmost tree
and pops into the narrow path
i walk blindfolded by my wrath
or shrunken by some twist of pain,
some hope that will not wind again.
he ogles with his antic eyes
and somersaults a you're-not-wise
until the patches in his pants
go colorwheeling through my glance
so fast that I cannot recall
that i was mad or sad at all.
a little bit of fool in me
keeps evergreen my inmost tree.

20 comments:

Kathleen said...

Wow! What an amazing painting. I must go visit Delwyn's post. And I'm impressed with your graphic treatment, which is clearly treelike!

Tess Kincaid said...

I've always felt a strong kinship with trees.

"...a little bit of fool in me keeps evergreen my inmost tree."

Beautiful. I love this, Stephen.

Golden West said...

One of my favorite sounds is the wind in the trees and I'm always amazed at how different each tree sounds.

Unknown said...

I have to think it is the "wise" in me that keeps evergreen my inmost tree. I love the painting and the poem. It feels so Christmasy. Your posting is so rich Steven, I can imagine the scent of evergreen. It's making my nose itch. he,he.

Jenny Stevning said...

Beautiful! Beyond the leaf I love lies the whole tree. I LOVE trees. A friend once told me that evergreens hold the space for all the other trees...holds the space for them all winter so they remember to be reborn in Spring. It made my heart ache when she told me that - in a good way. Powerful. Thank you!

Jenny Stevning said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
ellen abbott said...

Trees are essential to my well being.

Anonymous said...

beautiful...both verse and painting

steven said...

steven thankyou very much for dropping by and for your kind comment. steven

steven said...

hi ellen - i've loved them for a very long time but as i get a little bit older each year, their place in my life becomes more and more metaphoric as well as practical. i could spend a very long time telling all that trees have given me, done for me, and entirely without expectation of being repaid in kind. there's a tremendous learning in that! steven

steven said...

jenny stevning that's a beautiful idea!!! i'm putting that in my "just a thought space" on the blog. wow. steven

steven said...

linda that's really funny!! i love getting older for the oldness i feel in ways i didn't know. like knowing goodness . . . the goodness of things that were there but not really there for me. i'm grateful for so much that i took for granted. thanks for your lovely comment. steven

steven said...

golden west - a pine forest in late july. a warm breeze. the sparkle of a lake or a river. the crack of dead wood being broken for the evening campfire. mmmmmm. steven

steven said...

willow the trees are deep and old and connect to the earth the sun the air the whole of everything in a way that we do but we somehow have to relearn it and of course that's part of why the trees are there. to remind us. "the fool" . . . it's a piece i worked on in myself. moving from being silly to get attention, to being funny to get attention, to being honest to lay bare the silliness of others, to being as real as i can be at all times without hurting anyone or anything. to being in this astonishing place. have a lovely evening at the manor willow. steven

steven said...

kathleen- delwyn is such a beautiful person. she has a deep knowledge of this place we are all passing through. i'm so glad you enjoyed the painting!!!! steven

Anonymous said...

I love trees and think of them like people of a different kind. I even talk to trees. And I hug those I can.

steven said...

abe - i love trees also. they're like big old men and women. some of them are like very young men and women. i listen to them more than i talk to them. there are stories locked into their bark. stories that beggar oretty much anything i can rustle up!!! have a peaceful evening. steven

Stacey J. Warner said...

wow, so powerful...absolutely powerful.

it really spoke to me and the picture drew me in.

much love to you steven. so glad our paths have crossed.

much love

steven said...

hey stacey j. thanks for the love and for the more love!!! steven

Anonymous said...

Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!