By Charlotte Innes
More and more, I swim towards a rock
that moves away from me, and what I say
seems less real to me than the sparrow pecking
and scraping at my kitchen screen today.
But after we talked, you and I—or rather,
I let rip and you replied with a spare
yes or no at just the right moment—
a gentleness settled in that I might compare
with fresh green leaves dipping softly
outside my window in the late afternoon breeze,
except that once you said I mention trees
too often in my poems. It doesn’t matter.
Maybe trees are a kind of touchstone for me,
like that poet whose poems are full of horses,
grazing steadily, even as they die.
If only tenderness could be stored. I could
always turn you into a tree—in a poem,
I mean—a noble cedar, shedding needles
but evergreen, rooted in words to read
in the bitter cold or after the darkest dream.
This poem was originally published in Live Encounters, Nov-Dec. 2024.
The Importance of Arts, Culture & The Creative Process
The humanities are very important in that any kind of art causes creators to look closely at the world around them, and to dive deep inside, to interpret what they see and to question what they see. Making art sharpens our perceptions, both those of the artist and the people appreciating and paying attention to art. Art of any sort helps us to see the truth and beauty of what's around us, from the smallest pebble to the tallest building. An artist's interpretation can help us to see old things in new ways, and perhaps to make us understand them more.
Tell us something about the natural world that you love and don’t wish to lose. What are your thoughts on the kind of world we are leaving for the next generation?
Because I live in a city (Los Angeles), I believe that trees and greenery are life-sustaining, both physically and mentally. Trees freshen the air we breathe and help to lift us up from a downcast mood. A few years ago, a row of 100-year-old carob trees on my street were all cut down because of a fungus that was slowly killing them. It was very upsetting. I missed that gorgeous view from my window--and I noticed that the air was less fresh. Now the new trees that replaced the carobs are growing taller and my sadness is slowly lifting, but I'll never forget those old trees. The world we are leaving for the next generation is still beautiful but also slowly dying, mostly because of destructive human activities.. I hope we can all band together to stem the tide of human destruction.
