We Still Hear The Willow Weep January 11, 2012
Posted by nrhatch in Life Lessons, Mindfulness, Nature, People, Poetry.Tags: Friendship, Gardens, Nature, People, Poetry, Willow
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The willow near the old pond
Had, at times, been heard to weep
It sighed beside the waters
So cool, so calm, so deep
The children who had played there
Under branches framed with dew
Had since grown up and moved away
To think, to dream, to do
We change, we grow, we wander
Through this journey we call life
We smile with joy, tremble with fear
Grow strong through pain and strife
Behind us we leave branches
Of friendships we have made
And like the willow weeping
Soft and silent in the glade
We remember happy ties
So cool, so calm, so deep
And if we look o’er our shoulder
We still hear the willow weep
Related post: A River of Stones ~ Day 10 (Inspired Vision) * Walking Through Life (Water Witch’s Daughter)
This is beautiful. I’ve always thought weeping willows to be glorious and mysterious.
Thanks, Suzi. We had beautiful weeping willows around two ponds we visited regularly. Many of our wedding photos were taken beneath their swaying branches.
A beautiful poem about a beautiful tree. Love the symbolism!
Thanks, Theresa. The Wind in the Willows is a beautiful sound on a warm summer’s day.
So lovely, Nancy! Weeping Willows are among my very favorite trees. Great feelings here and a bit of wistfulness for those trees over our shoulders, calling to us. . .
Thanks, PTC. Nostalgia for times gone by tends to tug at our heartstrings ~ producing a bit of sorrow with the joy.
Stunning Nancy, I love Weeping Willows, and your words are beautifully eloquent and inspiring. Thank-you for sharing.
Thanks, Mands! Cecelia’s post yesterday (and her yearning to sit under a Weeping Willow) brought this poem to mind.
This is beautiful, Nancy. I will think about it the next time I see a weeping willow.
Thanks, Kate. Enjoy your time with Felix and Maddie NOW . . . as they WOW you (and us) with their insights.
One day, in the not too distant future, these days will be a mere whisper in the willows.
This is so beautiful, Nancy. Two places I have gone to during the years when I had my challenges was to go near an ocean or sit under my favorite trees;I even give them names. There is something comforting being around water or trees for me. I am going to remember the message of this poem when I see a willow tree.
Thanks, Marie. Water (ocean, river, stream, brook, bath, shower, rainstorm) is very comforting to me & I LOVE trees too.
They offer so much as they stand in “silent witness” (but for the whisper of the wind).
beautiful. touched my heart.
Thanks, Joss.
Such a beautiful and eloquently written poem. Willows have always held a special and magical place in my heart too.
Thanks, Bonnie. Nature nurtures . . . with magic and majesty.
This is quite lovely, Nancy. I love the title.
Thanks, Christine. The title came first. The poem followed its footsteps.
Weeping willows. We have one several blocks from our house. I could stare at it for hours. Gorgeous post.
I loved the willows around the pond where we grew up. They’re still there . . . we’ve moved on.
So beautiful, Nancy!
Thanks, Cindy. Thinking of joys and past pleasures fills me with sweet sorrow.
A beautiful poem… I can hear the willow weep, longing for the children who have left the willow by the river to weep alone.
Thanks, Maggie. The speed at which the years fly by catches me by surprise at times.
Beautiful! I love it!!! Weeping Willows are among my favorite trees. I actually had a particular tree in mind, it sat next to a brook, when I wrote the “small stone” you allude to. When I felt bad, I would take a book, or journal, or nothing, and go sit under the tree with my back against the trunk and just watch the stream babble. I love this poem…. Thanks.
Thanks, Cecelia. Your “stone” brought this poem to mind. It’s it wonderful how nature’s positive energy can lift our spirits.
Hope you’re feeling better today.
Lovely! They are amazing trees!
Oh, so beautiful, Nancy.
Thanks, Denise. I expect a poem’s value stems less from intent and content and more from the experiential context each reader brings to the poem. This one seems to have struck a chord.
That is VERY TRUE, Nancy!!!
It surprised me, at first, and then I realized the “universal” nature of nostalgia ~ the poignant pull of the past.
There’s something so graceful, warm, loving about the Willow Tree. One of my favorites, too Cecelia Futch. ; )
Beautiful words and images they evoke….thank you. xoxo
Glad you enjoyed, Jackie. I’m delighted that Cecelia mentioned her willow tree the other day. That recollection spurred this post.
Add me to the people here that love Weeping Willows. Such beautiful words Nancy and how lovely to have wedding photos shot with such a graceful tree.
Some of the shots are tremendous ~ the photographer knew what she was doing . . . and mother nature cooperated with bright blue skies and a light breeze.
I’m sorry if I sound like a grouchy old man, but I have a very different feeling about willow trees. The problem is that they have very strong roots, that spread out just along the surface of the soil. They break up pavement, and push sections of sidewalks apart, causing a tripping hazzard. Willow trees should not be planted in paved areas.
When the High School I attended first opened, there was a paved patio outside the offices, where small willow saplings were planted. After a few years, the roots had broken up all the paving tiles around them, and the trees had to be removed.
You’d think that any landscaping contractor would have warned whoever hired him, about the hazard.
I could imagine some official on the school board saying, “I’m the one who’s paying for it, and I want willow trees!”
“Okay,” replied the contractor. “but in a few years you’ll be paying me to come back and remove them.”
I again apologize for my grouchiness.
Perhaps they should only be planted in silent glades or beside babbling brooks . . . where their roots have room to roam?
Lovely, Nancy…
Thanks, Ruth. I seem to have struck a chord in folks with this post. That’s always fun.
So delightful and simple, Nancy. I enjoyed every word.
John
Thanks, John. Glad that you found it an enjoyable read.
Beautiful, Nancy!
Reminds me of a weeping willow that grew behind a childhood friend’s house…
it’s very cool how your poem brought all those good memories back!
Writing this brought back happy memories for me too . . . which made me a bit sad. But I rebounded.
Weeping Willows aren’t my favorite trees (I like “perkier” trees) but I do love this poem
Thanks, Janna. My favorite trees are palm trees.
Beautiful and thoughtful…lovely poem, Nancy. Trees speak to me, too, so I will listen for a little different message next time I’m with a willow. Debra
Thanks, Debra. Embracing natures does us a world of good.
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Lovely metaphor – and love these melancholic lines
“And like the willow weeping
Soft and silent in the glade”
Thanks, bluebee. Those are my two favorite lines.
We had one of those and a pussy willow when I was a child. Arrrrrrrrrrrhhhhhhhhh – the memories. I loved those trees.
So they do grow down under. I wasn’t sure how far they roamed in choosing a home. Thanks, Robyn.
This is so beautiful… I love weeping willows even though something about them seems so poignant and so sad.
Thanks, E! Whoever called them a Weeping Willow the first time must have sensed that sadness.
beautiful poem, Nancy…it does whisper, as if the willow branches are brushing the earth. Willow, I do love that as a first name, too…though, I know more animals with that name than humans, lol ~
I met a Holistic Practictioner down here who owns Body Mind Solutions. Her name is Willow. I loved that.