Photo: David Slotto
love lost
a rondel
i touch the old tree’s scaly bark,
caress the roughness of its skin,
releasing mem’ries held within
when you would meet me in the dark.
i wait for songs of doves and larks—
those melodies of longing when
i touch the old tree’s scaly bark
caress the roughness of its skin.
that night i waited in this park
hugging its trunk, a love-struck teen,
i sensed i’d lost all that had been
in new-moon blackness, not a spark
touch the old tree’s scaly bark.
Today at dVerse Poetics Gayle is challenging us to write a Rondel. The bar will open at 3:00 EST and that’s where you will find the recipe for this fun-to-write form. Don’t be afraid to give it a try–I find that working with the discipline of a form stretches the poetic muse.
Victoria C. Slotto, Author 
Tree Bark Scales
gRow oN GRow
off.. liVing tree
cares not
lives
life GRows
tAller never
weiGhing
scales
oF othEr
trees..
LiGht lives
iN oN LEaves
shaDow liGht..:)
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I really like how this form tends to make a really strong last stanza. Your poem has that nostalgic, enclosed feeling. Lovely!
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Beautiful poem ! I smile because I love the tree. Daniel says that I always manage to have trees in my poems. A love affair with trees.
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Finally! I wrote out my reply three times last night…only to be thwarted by a bad internet connection. Seems to be working this morning so will have a go here 🙂 I loved this poem. It reminded me of the trees you see where someone has carved a heart and put initials in it. Ah, young love in terms of those first impulsive days when we would do this. And then we see a tree with this “etching” and we wonder, who were these people? Did they marry? Are they still together? The tree bears their love but do they still? Your poem made my mind “jump” here — and isn’t that a good thing when the writer can have the reader “continue” in their head? 🙂 Very good indeed!
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oh….how silly of me………the post posts at the TOP of your comments! 😦 My earlier posts were here all along….well….that’s commitment for you! Read it three times and had enough enthusiasm for it to reply three times!
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Sounds like the kind of thing I do!!!
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Great poem on young love…and I agree about the discipline of form stretching the muse
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Ah young love. I always wonder about the people who carve the heart in a tree and write their initials….where are they now? Did they marry? Did they commit? Or was this just a love struck marring of the bark? Your poem brings all this to mind…
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Young love. I always wonder about the people who carved those hearts and initials in trees…..where are they now? Did they marry or move on? Your poem brings all this to mind. 🙂
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Such a romantic piece!
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A superb love poem enhanced by the rhyme and repetition
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I love poems about trees – a lovely rondel.
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Such a delightful read, Victoria!
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the form and content compliment each other…the first two lines are poignant…
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Poignant and beautiful. What a powerful symbol the old tree’s scaly bark becomes!
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So many stories in that bark. Well done, Victoria. I can feel the memories in that veined tree skin…and in the repetition of the lines.
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Victoria, I haven’t visited in awhile but, I am so glad I joined in tonight or I would have missed this amazing poem. The picture is fascinating, What kind of tree would this be?
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It’s here in the neighborhood…possibly a Eucalyptus, but I will have to ask one of the landscapers…or better, take my tree book and figure it out myself. If it’s Eucalyptus, I will know it by the leaves. And smell.
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Most definitely a eucalyptus! (We Aussies know. 🙂 )
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A healing Eucalyptus tree…how wonderful..
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A lot of my memories are connected to trees as well
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My earliest are. They are like keystones in our lives.
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Great response the the prompt, Victoria. We all know that particular heartbreak, but you made it very real and palpable for us today.
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Nothing quite as sorrowful as a love-struck teen who has lost their love. Somehow that sturdy, steadfast tree seems to be something that she can “lean” on…through the ups and downs of life.
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Very romantic and filled with longing Victoria ~ I specially like the sense of touch in the refrain: i touch the old tree’s scaly bark ~
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Another wonderful Rondel conveying the emotion of long lost love so beautifully
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you’ve made us see and feel this story of lost love
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Trees can be such reminders, and comfort. Love how you built that tactile sense into the poem.
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You’ve beautifully captured this memory, given it substance we can hold on to. Very nice rondel. Peace, Linda
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i wait for songs of doves and larks—
those melodies of longing when
i touch the old tree’s scaly bark
Beautiful lines Victoria 🙂
Lots of love,
Sanaa
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Strong romantic message, sadness mixed with sweetness, terrific use of the form.
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This is so splendid… such a memory, I could sense the bark and maybe also the letters cut in vain… The oak is a fantastic connection to the past..
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The repetition of the lines in this poem makes me feel strongly the yearning for once had been and is no more. So many times one wonders what might have been……
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