March 2007 Theme ~ "The Willow Tree"
Our theme for March was to write a poem for which the title might be "The Willow Tree".Congratulations to our March winners!
Beneath My Willow Tree
Reflections of another life beneath the willow treePainted by the hands of time within my memory,
Pondering in its shadow on the tales it could tell
While bearing witness to the years it came to know me well.
The distant recollection of a little girl at play
Dancing through the meadow and laughing all the way
Or laying hidden in the grass beneath the weathered boughs
Gazing in the stillness at the blue sky peering down.
Fondly reminiscing on the years I sought refuge
Within the leafy shadows from a world I thought was cruel
A willful adolescent who thought no one understood
The turbulent transition into womanhood.
Then with a smile I relive the day I became a bride
Standing on the riverbank all radiant in white,
Shaded by the branches that embraced me one last time
Before I left my childhood and my willow tree behind.
Today I stand in retrospect shrouded in memories
As I recall some fifty years beneath this willow tree,
A past so long forgotten though never far away
Remains here on the riverbank as if it were yesterday.
© 2007 ~ Christina
I'll Have My Dream
What sorrow struck the willow tree?Is it the same that's stricken me
Where in my soul, I once was free...
And now it claims the best of me?
What joy and peace have I to keep
When low I am, and long I weep
A soul that cannot rest to sleep,
While pain and hurt lie still too deep.
What more has life to me to bring
I have not felt or have not seen
Can it not grant me
A simple dream....
Upon my branches,
A bird to sing?
Do not predict that I may feel
I've lost the war, thus lost my will
For upon my branches,
A bird will sing
And I'll have my song;
I'll have my dream.
© 2007 ~ RisenSun84
The Old Willow
When I was young I used to walk past a huge old willow treeShe was majestic in size with her branches hanging low over me
She became a place for solitude, a place to quietly write a theme
Hidden under her mighty branches I could close my eyes and dream
Many years I sat within my quiet place and pondered or would pray
I would write a poem or story and hide from the world each day
I always knew my secret place would shield me from life's harms
I wept, I slept, I dreamed and danced, beneath her mighty arms
As years went by and oh so quickly, I somehow forgot about that place
She stood there waiting for me to come, to hold me in her embrace
One day when I was eighteen all grown up and falling in love so deep
I went out to my sweet old willow and underneath her I did creep
I sat under her warm embrace like I had done for years
I asked for her forgiveness as my eyes welled up with tears
She didn't stop from loving me as she wrapped me in her arms
That day I knew my willow would always hold a special charm
She stands out there as she always has and today gave me a surprise
I went out to my willow and something underneath her caught my eye
My children had made a special place to build a fort for make believe
My willow was now holding them safely and smiling down at me !
© 2007 ~ Lady Deb
The Willow Tree
Beneath the lacy branchesbending almost to the ground,
She stood alone and quietly
Began to spin around.
The greenness of the leaflets
Made an Irish curtain haze
As she closed her eyes in silent prayer,
Remembering past days.
She wondered where it all went wrong,
What happened to her life?
And yet she knew she must go on,
Move forward out of strife.
"Dear Lord, beneath this willow
Weeping gently in the breeze,
Give me a new contentment
And your gentle sense of peace."
And as her tears fell softly
Down upon the fertile ground,
She spun beneath the willow
And she turned her life around.
© 2007 ~ Grandma Lyn
The Willow Tree
As a child she would play beneath the willow treeA blanket was spread for a picnic for her dollies three
Sweeping boughs gave the gift of shade to keep her nice and cool
After lunch she'd read to her dolls from her favorite stool
When Fall came the leaves would drop a colorful array
She would rake them into a pile and spend the day at play
Running as fast as she could she jumped into the pile
And the crunching noise of the leaves always made her smile
Winter snows clung to bare branches so lovely to behold
She stood beneath her tree catching snowflakes in the cold
She thought her tree looked lonely out there all alone
So she made a snowman right underneath and this became his home
With Spring the tree began to bud it's branches starting to green
And a new addition was given the tree a wonderful wooden swing
So Many an hour did she swing underneath her willow tree
The warm sun shining down on her she enjoyed the gentle breeze
The years go by and she's come by to visit her old home
She walks up to her willow tree standing there all alone
Its branches now are sparse and some are even missing
But the memories that it holds are worth her reminiscing
© 2007 ~ Reneé
