Happy fourth and final Friday of the 2020 Slice of Life Challenge at Two Writing Teachers. It’s the last Friday the SOLC and Poetry Friday intersect. Where has the time gone? Today I am again slicing up a bit of poetry. Poet Tabatha Yeatts is hosting this week’s gathering on her blog, The Opposite of Indifference. Won’t you join us there as well? Slicing poetry on Fridays during the SOLC has been a great way to flex those writing muscles. If you are ever wondering where to find the weekly host of Poetry Friday, you’ll find a list of hosts and their blog links here.
There is a very special tree downtown that I can see from our second-floor bedroom window. Every time I walk into that room this time of year, its chartreuse glow catches my eye. It is a small moment on my day that brings me hope.
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Thanks for wondering and wandering a bit with me today. Many thanks to the crew at Two Writing Teachers, and the extended SOL community, for giving us the time, space, and encouragement to live the writerly life here each Tuesday and every day during March. And thanks to Tabatha for hosting the poetic side of this week’s double celebration! Happy Friday, all, and be safe and well.
Wondering and Wandering 
I love this! There is one tree that has been first to bud outside of my window, too, and it gives me hope every day. It’s exciting to watch the trees bud for the first time in this apartment. I’m sure mine will eventually blend in, but every year, I hope it’s pretty buds greets me first!
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Thanks for sharing your tree, Christie. I, too, am looking for hopeful signs in nature. It’s tough to do today with beach closures all over southern Maine. Still, we listened the red-winged blackbirds calling each other on a walk yesterday. It was lovely. Hang in there!
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I love that you know this tree so well and look to it through the seasons. I’m sure that tree takes care of you too. A lovely poem.
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When I worked in a first-grade classroom before I began teaching, there was a tree we watched and drew and wrote about all year long. Your connection to the tree and familiarity is real, and yes, we are looking for that so much now.
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We all need familiar right now, Christie. Thanks for sharing your tree and helping me notice the familiar a bit closer today. Stay safe.
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I know exactly what you’re feeling about that tree. I’ve had several trees in my life that ground me and give me comfort in their faithfulness and familiarity. I think I mentioned the book “The Hidden Life if Trees” in a previous comment. It really is a fabulous book about the human qualities in trees.
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Mary Lee also shared about a tree, Christie. Our special connections to nature go a long, long way in helping us feel better. I love that you wrote about your tree, something special for you, to you. That word ‘familiar’ is important right now, I agree. Thanks and best wishes for staying healthy to you & your family.
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I have deep connections with trees. “I need familiar right now,” is a perfect line. I need to check on the cherry trees at the library. I popped by a few days ago, but it was too soon. Hope I’m not too late. Chartreuse glow was a perfect description – I could certainly see your tree.
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I’m just now reading through the roundup and how perfect is this — your tree post right next to mine! (Loving that “post” can mean writing and something made from trees!!) The opportunity/need to be outdoors daily has had me watching all the trees in the neighborhood come back to life!
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I love the bright almost glowing color of the trees in early spring. Thanks for sharing your poem that celebrates that. I hope to see that color soon here in Upstate NY.
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I need familiar right now, as well, and your tree outside the window poem helped me, Christie. Thank you for that. 🙂
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Thanks for this, Christie. I am watching the trees around me also. Which ones go first, what they wear, what color they like. What habits… etc. It does bring comfort. Let’s all hang in there… best to you.
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If someone had asked me if one could have a lasting relationship with a tree, back in my younger days, I would most likely have said no. Watching my grandson and my husband (and at times me) visit the front yard trees, watching as he runs his little hand up and down on the bark, teaches me about learning to love trees and nature. We have been describing rough and smooth bark . We talk about these trees and ask him if he has been out to visit his tree each day we now visit with him on Skype. His mom’s computer is set so he is looking out the front window at the tree which he points to as we visit. There is something magical about trees and especially watching your 1 yo grandson fall in love with them. I think your poem will speak to him. I will try to read it to him now and if he does not show interest I will return to it. Some day I bet he “gets it” and I will let you know. Being among trees is a gift so many never have.
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We have one of those early green trees on the other side of our pond. It makes me smile, especially this time of year.
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Love that you look forward to seeing “your” tree each year! There is something comforting in seeing the consistency our nature-friends.
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Tabatha had a post about the gift of trees today. How trees send sugar to other trees that are old or unhealthy. There is this amazing root system that each tree supports. We need to look to the trees today for hope and for answers.
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