All That Time
I saw two trees embracing.
One leaned on the other
as if to throw her down.
But she was the upright one.
Since their twin youth, maybe she
had been pulling him toward her
all that time,
and finally almost uprooted him.
He was the thin, dry, insecure one,
the most wind-warped, you could see.
And where their tops tangled
it looked like he was crying
on her shoulder.
On the other hand, maybe he
had been trying to weaken her,
break her, or at least
make her bend
over backwards for him
just a little bit.
And all that time
she was standing up to him
the best she could.
She was the most stubborn,
the straightest one, that’s a fact.
But he had been willing
to change himself–
even if it was for the worse–
all that time.
At the top they looked like one
tree, where they were embracing.
It was plain they’d be
always together.
Too late now to part.
When the wind blew, you could hear
them rubbing on each other.
May Swenson
First of all, you are the best blogger at introducing me to poems I want to go out and buy, so if you also have a favorite book of a poet you mention, post that too. Secondly, this is fascinating in the light of recent research that certain plants will in fact grown in the direction of others of their species. It was demonstrated with high-speed film, the plants seeking each other out. If it weren’t in such slow plant-time, we’d see it happening all the time. They KNOW when another of their species is nearby!
G, I read an article about that in the Times and have wanted to excerpt it here. Thanks for reminding me–it was so fascinating.
And thank you for the poetry high five–that made my day.
i like it so much , but there are few things i could not understand .
would you plz give me a general explaination about it.
thanx (;
Actually I’m asked to write an essay on this poem, yet a have no idea what the whole poem is about. Can you please tell me what is the general idea there?
Guys, you are really lazy. I know that Dr. Mukhtar Chaudhary asked you to analyze this poem, but you seem to be unwilling to even try. Just try. It won’t take you an enitre month to analyze it. It’s fairely easy. I don’t understand you.
If the poem was fairly easy as you have claimed, then why did you search on the internet? Why did you read these comments? Weren’t you looking for an answer too? Weren’t you looking for a few ideas to include in your essay? Don’t be reluctant to admit your laziness. After all, it is nice to put up with the crowd.
loooooool it’s seem all Dr. Mukhtar’s Chaudhary student on trubel, not just me.^^
i HATE Swenson and all english poetry that it’s lost my time
there’s no solution except to do it by myself. الله المستعان
🙁
I enjoyed seeing this–just wrote a piece about meeting her. Is this for a class?