Oak Tree in the Glen

Community: Part 4

Hello, Seekers of Community!

This is Part 4 of a six-part poetry exchange between me and the Substack poet’s poet, Brian Funke of Poetry & Process. The theme for this exchange was Community. Below is my response to Brian’s poem, Us.

A newsletter will be published daily for six days, exploring different aspects of Community, each publication responding to and building on the prior piece from the collaborating artist. Read along and consider your own community with themes of childhood, friendship, love, broken community, leaving and returning, solitude, nature, searching, parenting, and promises.

I hope you enjoy this collaborative effort on Community.

Community: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Oak Tree in the Glen

Can there ever be
a community of one?
I asked the oak tree
that stood alone in the glen
creating my oxygen.

Leaves quaked in the sun,
her laughter helping me see
I’m a simpleton.
Wild grass joined in the mocking,
verdant blades interlocking.

Squirrels, birds, and bees
weaved through this idyllic run,
around the oak tree
community in the glen
creating my oxygen

Listen to me read Oak Tree in the Glen below:

Poet’s Notes

April 1-13, 2024

Part four of “An exchange” with Brian Funke on community, in response to Us. I was moved by the second stanza. The lines “To fill a place with sound/ that has its own reverberation,/ to build wooden stools in a place/ where we are meant to run,/ to lay claim to liquid/ that can only slip between our fingers/ as it is meant to flow forever,/ is to deny a life to what exists/ alive among is.” made me think of a forest glen I sometimes visit when I need to reconcile my internal conflict over wanting both solitude and community. The poem shaped itself into a form that I call a tanka sonnet. 

Thanks for reading! Make sure to come back for part 5 tomorrow and part 6 on Friday.

Be the poetry you want to see in the world!

Cheers,