I have been reading The
Overstory by Richard Powers, an amazing novel of intricately woven roots and branches: tree stories that bring together a group of strangers, each summoned in
different ways by trees to save a few remaining acres of virgin forest.
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| Daphne and Apollo - found on Wikipedia |
As a lover of trees – they are my favourite plant of all – I
have been mesmerised by this novel and it has inspired my prompt for today,
which is based on myths and legends, stories in which people change into trees,
such as Daphne, who becomes a bay laurel before Apollo can catch her; the Maenads
who murdered Orpheus and have to watch their own toes turn into roots and their
legs into trunks; Cyparissus, transformed into a cypress tree by Apollo;
Myrrha, who is changed into a myrtle after creeping into her father’s bed; and
Baucis and Philemon who spend centuries together as oak and linden as a reward for
taking in strangers who are actually gods. There are too many tree myths and
legends to list them all here.
The challenge is to pick a tree story, from the list above
or any other you know and love, and write a poem about it. You can write it in
the classical way as a ballad or narrative poem, or you can update it, riff
with it or play around with the idea in any form of your choice. You can even
make up your own story about a human who is changed into a tree.
Here are a few links to help you:
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| Baucis and Philemon by Arthur Racham - image found on Pinterest |
I also found this wonderful poem by Katherine Gallagher, 'The Year of the Tree':
https://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/gallagher-katherine/the-year-of-the-tree-0646003
Using your knotty tree finger, join in by clicking on Mister Linky and filling in your name and url – not forgetting to tick the small ‘data’ box. And please remember to read and comment on other toads’ poems – let’s see if we can create a living forest of mythological poems!
https://www.poetrylibrary.edu.au/poets/gallagher-katherine/the-year-of-the-tree-0646003
Using your knotty tree finger, join in by clicking on Mister Linky and filling in your name and url – not forgetting to tick the small ‘data’ box. And please remember to read and comment on other toads’ poems – let’s see if we can create a living forest of mythological poems!