A Walk Poem by Barry Middleton
A Walk
Come walk with me this final mile,
and grant to me a parting whim.
We shan't go deep into the woods,
or stroll the main street in the town.
Let us pass by the fevered pace,
and seek a secret, silent place.
We pass a church that watches us,
to judge the path we travel on.
We hear the sound of childhood play,
still unaware that suns go down.
I tip my hat and pass the school,
and all its bygone mystery.
My destination is a place,
where hides remote a simple tree.
So few go there the grass is thick
across a field that mutes the sounds.
And why you ask do we go here,
so far removed, the lawn unkempt?
I stoop to find an acorn nut,
and place it gently in your hand,
and answer then. This is a tree
I planted many years ago,
from just an acorn's tiny seed.
When I pass through that final door,
it's up to you to plant the trees.
~~~~~
Dedicated to the many trees I planted wherever I went.
But the poem is about more than trees.
Like your other readers this poem touched me very deeply. I was drawn in by the title because I love walking, and your poem has a walking rhythm in its long lines which do not allow any speeding up and hold the reader to your mental gait. I sensed too the quiet conversation as you postponed the significance of the walk until the tree, a symbol of the wholeness life, is reached and can add its non-verbal message to the poem. The tree does embody everything you intend to communicate in the poem. but the sheer beauty of your words rivals the silent wisdom of nature. Together they create a poem of consolation, preparedness, as Hamlet said, THE READINESS IS ALL.
Thank you very much Daniel. I appreciate the commentary and praise.
A great meaningful write with a beautiful message to the reader. So heart-warming to read. Yes, plant a tree so someone can enjoy the shade or the fruit of it. That's what we shall be remembered by. A super 10.
Thanks. Glad you liked it. I love trees and I love to plant them. I can always find the exactly right spot.
Barry, this one frightened me....Poet to poet, I worry....
Barry, this one nearly made me cry! It is clearly about more than nature. It is about life, and death, and passing on the torch after you are gone, leaving a legacy. Lovely work!
Very pleased that it had an emotional impact. That is often what I am trying to achieve. Also pleased that you got the larger meaning. Thank you for the comment.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/25/2024 3:57:04 PM # 1.0.0.1119
Sub specie aeternitatis, under the prism of eternity's, was painted this picture of yours, dear Barry.One gets the sense and feeling that all persons at someday will pass by, the time they lived, and feels the nostalgy he may not be able to feel after he will have left our world.Pesimistitic but the same time full of a sense that all that had to be done have been already done, which proves that deat no more timidates him, he has done his duty in this life and is ready to loose the Alexandria he loves [K Cavafis The God Abandons Antony The Canon When suddenly, at midnight, you hear an invisible procession going by with exquisite music, voices, don’t mourn your luck that’s failing now, work gone wrong, your plans all proving deceptive—don’t mourn them uselessly. As one long prepared, and graced with courage, say goodbye to her, the Alexandria that is leaving. Above all, don’t fool yourself, don’t say it was a dream, your ears deceived you: don’t degrade yourself with empty hopes like these. As one long prepared, and graced with courage, as is right for you who proved worthy of this kind of city, go firmly to the window and listen with deep emotion, but not with the whining, the pleas of a coward; listen—your final delectation—to the voices, to the exquisite music of that strange procession, and say goodbye to her, to the Alexandria you are losing. Translated by Edmund Keeley/Philip Sherrard
Thanks Dimitrios. A very similar theme but Cavafy's execution is very different. I do not mention grief at all, the speaker is quite flat and matter of fact. We have a saying I like - it is what it is.