Vox Populi
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Jim Minick: Know the Trees, One by One
Know the trees, one by one,
rough-barked, smooth, shingled, or banded,
oak, hickory, maple, or gum.
Like a blind man walking, comb
the dimpled woods with feathery hands
‘til you know the trees, one by one.
Like a deaf man singing, hone
your tongue so you unravel the stand
calling, “Oak, hickory, maple, gum.”
What is time to a tree honeycombed
by bees? Rings retell the land
if you know the trees, one by one.
What is never to a bear that dens
in a tree, snoring in the dark hand
of oak, hickory, maple, or gum?
Kiss like lightning every cone.
Like a bobcat scratch your telegrams.
Know the trees, one by one.
Oak, hickory, maple, gum.
Copyright 2024 Jim Minick. From The Intimacy of Spoons by Jim Minick (Madville, 2024).
Jim Minick is the author or editor of eight books including the novel Fire is your Water.
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Just walked out among my trees that seem to hide the 100 degree heat. Whispers of smoke from faraway fires. The pine, the toyon, avocado and crape Myrtle , taller than the books would tell you, friendly competition for the sun. I love the song of this poem.
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I listen to my trees (yes, I claim them!); they speak, sing, in a perfect tone, telling tales I can almost comprehend. Mister Chime, acting as translator, helps a little in the process. I love my trees and this poem!
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I listen to my trees (yes, I claim them!); they speak, sing, in a perfect tone, telling tales I can almost comprehend. Mister Chime, acting as translator, helps a little in the process. I love my trees and this poem!
A lovely poem, Leo. Thank you!
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We spent yesterday’s Literature and the Environment class talking about trees❤️
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Know the trees one by one; know the poems which help us know the trees. Like this one. A subtle daring, an array of intensities to how Jim Minick gets to know a tree. and helps us do so too. A reminder to me of how communication between a human and another can use all our senses…and also employ the imaginative creature: metaphor, not just science.
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Lovely, Jim. I’m not alone in having heard trees speak, or rather sing.
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q: what kind of trees do we librarian’s like?
a: the whispering pines
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“What is time to a tree honeycombed
by bees? “
I’ll be ‘singing’ this line in my head today…”like a deaf man singing”…
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A tree must have a very different sense of time than we do… I need to think about this…
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Wonderful I’ve met Jim and read his stuff. He is a hell of a writer
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Beautiful poem.
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