We have LOTS of trees on our 5+ acres, but this little one always catches my eye from our front window. It's my weather tree, I guess. I can see how deep the snow is, how thick the ice is, or how sunny the day is even, just by looking at this little fellow standing out there by itself. It probably wasn't even there when we first moved in 14 years ago, but has finally grown up tall enough for me to notice. He's (assuming it is a "he" anyway) a cute thing that perhaps next year at Christmas would like to be decorated. He's been the star of the past few blogs, and this morning, I thought he deserved his own poem. So here you go Spiny Pine. I think that is his name now. Spiny Pine.
Shiny pine out in the cold
Waiting for spring to arrive;
Ice has bedecked you,
Snowfall beflecked you,
How do you hope to survive?
Spiny pine with needles green,
Ever to be even now,
In summer or fall
You must have a ball
Though winter weighs on each bough.
Whiny pine yielding to wind,
Bending and bowing so low;
Keep trying to stand,
In spring you’ll be grand,
Stronger for trials in the snow.
Tiny pine, stoic yet small,
Someday you'll be tall and strong;
But still when it's cold
You'll need to be bold -
Winters in Maine are so long.
©Donna JT Smith, 2013
Thanks Mary Lee, for hosting the Poetry Roundup today at A Year of Reading. Everyone needs to head on over there for links to more poetry to enjoy today!
Dear Spiny Pine,
ReplyDeleteStay strong, little tree! Persist, survive, grow tall and handsome...but keep your unique shape, always be YOU.
Yes, persist is a good word! I would like to see how he shapes up in years to come!
DeleteHe looks like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree. Some decoration and I bet he'd dress up nice.
ReplyDeleteThat must be why I like him. He does look like Charlie's tree. Maybe we'll put a star on him for Monday when we celebrate Christmas with my kids and grandson!
DeleteI love pine trees too. So many of your lines in this poem delight me. I especially love, "Stronger for trials in the snow", and "Though winter weighs on each bough". kganon@sanjuan.edu
ReplyDeleteYour adopted tree makes me smile. I'm sure he feels emboldened just by the fact you've immortalized him in writing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a pretty poem :)
ReplyDeleteAnd tree.
What a lovely tree! Tiny but strong!
ReplyDeleteI was searching for the word combination "spiny pine tree," and came across your site. Will you tell me what this "spiny" means? In my dictionary, I read it means "covered with spines" or "slender and pointed like a spine." As for your little pine tree, what does the word "spiny" mean?
Jan from Germany
What a lovely tree! Tiny but strong!
ReplyDeleteI was searching for the word combination "spiny pine tree," and came across your site. Will you tell me what this "spiny" means? In my dictionary, I read it means "covered with spines" or "slender and pointed like a spine." As for your little pine tree, what does the word "spiny" mean?
Jan from Germany
Spiny here does mean, as you said, covered with spines. The needles of the pine tree can look a bit like porcupine quills sticking out, or like the spines on a sea anemone.
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