Friday, April 2, 2021

When Woe Bites

When woe sinks sharp teeth
into tender flesh, I scream

not.

I breathe
out my howls while running

for the trees:

Nature always knows
how to love me, how to steal me
back from the brink.

When woe bites, I fly
into the woods, remembering
my love grows on trees— 

even the beaten bits.



 - for Poets and Storytellers United--Writers’ Pantry #64: Librarians Are Magic; this is also my response to Rommy’s Weekly Scribblings #63: Trees.

47 comments:

  1. Now THERE'S a word we don't hear very often anymore -- "woe." Except for maybe an occasional "woe is me" or something.

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    1. Really? I might be reading old books. Because I remember seeing it quite often.

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  2. The hopeful tone is a balm for my weary soul. As I'm writing this, I'm planning to spend a little time under the cherry blossoms on Saturday with a bowl of tea and let nature do its thing. :)

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  3. I fly toward water and howl at the waves before they hit the shore. There's a lot of grey and blue, it's nice to see green starting to reappear.

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    1. I miss the ocean. I haven't seen it in quite some time. And it has been even longer since I went for a swim...

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  4. Fear not the beast you find there... it will only be me ;D cws

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    1. Bwahahaha! I knew I recognized that sharp smile. 😁

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  5. Exquisite poetry, our life lesson for today.

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  6. You are so right! Getting out into the trees – or down to the water, as others have noted – is always a balm to heart, soul and body.

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    1. Nature is so good at offering us ways to relax...

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  7. ‘Woe’ is such an expressive word, Magaly, almost onomatopoeic, that I’m full of woe that it’s not heard or seen much these, except occasionally in poetry. I’m so glad you shook it out and gave it an airing in this poem. In this case it’s a creature with sharp teeth. I love all the ‘oh’ and ‘ow’ sounds and the lines:
    ‘…I fly
    into the woods, remembering
    my love grows on trees—
    even the beaten bits.’

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    1. You're right, "woe" certainly sounds like itself...

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  8. Being part of nature is certainly a comforting thought as we are then helping the world and not only thinking of profit and ourselves.

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  9. Lovely imagenand double cherita

    Happy Easter

    (✿◠‿◠)

    much love...

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  10. Yes, yes and yes "Nature always knows/how to love me..." So much can be said about the healing power of nature. A brilliant response to the prompt.

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  11. Love grows on trees and that's better than money!

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  12. i love that "not" standing alone in the poem. very defiant. definitely a fighter. :)

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  13. You love also grows WITH the trees, I suspect. :)

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  14. Nature is a blessing! Big Hugs!

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  15. How lovely. Love grows on trees and nature heals us. How wonderful to have that.

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    1. And the most wonderful part is that we can all have some aspect of it, if we look...

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  16. I shouldn't say lots but there are songs and sayings about wild love but of course not really wildlife. My apartment land lady's name was Mrs. Freelove but we didn't make remarks. I wouldn't but I'm sure some did. Her apartment was down two from mine, I got to know her well, almost a mother son attitude.
    Thank you for hosting, I put my NaPoWriMo Day Three on. I kind of like it.
    ..

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  17. The natural world is the great comfort... this is its purpose. Pity we don't appreciate this wonderful gift of healing.

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    1. Humans can be such ungrateful (and straight up stupid) creatures.

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  18. Good title.
    Yup, nature can pull us back from the brink if we let her.
    Late making the rounds but better late than never...no?
    Thanks.

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    1. Hey, it took me almost a month to reply to your comment, so I guess you weren't late at all. 😅

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  19. Magaly, your wisdom shines in everything you write, and your ability to find the positive is so admirable. Thank you for being you!

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    1. You're most welcome, Bev. Thank you for noticing.

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  20. Truly, love grows on trees and nature heals. Beautiful write.

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