Thursday, September 26, 2013

Wild Woman Goes for Tea



There is a dangerous old woman
who lives in the forest.
Her house is whittled inside a tree trunk,
and her music is the rainfall on the leaves.


"Whu-hoo", says the owl 
on the cobbled doorstep,
blinking her yellow eyes
and rustling her feathers.

"To enter, you must have passed 
sixty years of seasons.
The map of your life
must be drawn upon your face,
and your eyes droop with 
 sadness and the memory
of your journey.
Yes. You are
sad enough and wise enough
 to pass."


I enter and, within, the fire is blazing.
A grizzled white-haired crone bends
to pour my tea.

"And what are you wondering?
What question brings you here?"
she asks,
dipping a dainty finger
in her teacup
and stirring.

"What do I have to do,
to have my dwelling in a tree?"

"Grow back your clipped wings,
and remember how to fly."


47 comments:

  1. Yes! A fable of paradox and identity! I like the dialogue.

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  2. Oh, Sherry. Profound, and whimsical at the same time! How do you do that?

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  3. Chuckles, that touch of humour nicely done! Great take Sherry!

    Hank

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  4. I love this, my friend. It really speaks to me. Thank you.

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  5. Oh yes. Let's grow wings and fly. Love this Sherry. It's wonderful how you conjure up such a magical little story.

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  6. Oh wow Sherry the imagery is so vivid and those last lines wow, Profound indeed =)

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  7. This was a delight to read, Sherry!! Definitely GOOD advice.

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  8. You will now have me checking trees in the woods... :)

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  9. I love the gate keeper's photo! I love this tale-I have some golden thread from the sun if you need it! Great poem Sherry :D

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  10. I love the story ~ Someday, I want to go there & have tea with that wise woman ~

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  11. Oh it's so beautiful!!! I love the way the poem is a story with a lesson and how apt the lesson is!

    I truly enjoyed this one :)

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  12. delightful storyline.....and a cool ending....loved it :)

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  13. A living piece of magic in this beautiful tale. Love the advice at the end, but especially love the lines:
    "Her house is whittled inside a tree trunk,
    and her music is the rainfall on the leaves..."

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  14. I enjoyed your poem and how you make us feel the presence of nature. I love your advice at the end!

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  15. Oh, this is so beautifully penned, Sherry. Honestly, enjoyed the wonderful surroundings! Love it...

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  16. oh, what a brilliant ending answer.

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  17. oh Sherry, it seems we are continuously clipping and growing, clipping and growing... this too is part of the journey... the sadness, the joy. BEautiful, beautiful poem my friend.

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  18. Oh MY !! Sherry! this is truly a trip through the looking glass - into the wooded tree - just as someone else has said "wonderful and whimsical" and most startlingly powerful absolutely authentic in its voice ... Wonderful. Bravo!

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  19. Yes, so hard to grow them back once they're clipped. Funny the way life beats us up and then we have to learn all over again how to live.

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  20. her music is the sound of rainfall on trees....you hooked me early with that one....what a thing to learn in the end as well...to fly again....a wise woman surely...

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  21. there's a lesson to be learned here : "Grow back your clipped wings,
    and remember how to fly."


    great work! :)

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  22. 60 years... ok..got that! Now to work in the wings.

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  23. Oh Sherry--I loved, loved this--it made me cry and laugh at the same time---

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  24. Brilliant! I loved it and I loved the 'remember how to fly' at the end.

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  25. Nice one Sherry! Flying is such a great, tantalising prospect!

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  26. Oh, so many of us have forgotten how to fly

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  27. I wrote a piece not too long ago....


    Tea in the Forest

    The gentle Deer
    Watches me
    From sheltered
    Hiding place
    Behind the tree

    As I watch Rabbit
    Dressed for tea
    Dance the dance
    For all to see

    Blossoms
    A great disguise
    For tea
    Red flowers in
    Your hair

    Friends gather
    Round
    For rituals
    Of tea
    Has to be done
    Just this way
    A tradition
    You say

    You arrive
    In time
    Past and present
    Shake hands
    And rhyme

    Dressed in your finest
    Greenery and wine
    Hold out your hands
    Embrace everyone

    Tea for you
    Tea for me
    Tea for all
    Will the Hatter pour

    ____

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  28. Indeed, that is the only way - such wisdom, Sherry, and such a delightfully told 'story'...

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  29. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!! I am growing back my clipped wings right now. I am 10 years from 60 yet but it pays to get a head start.

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  30. This was amazing! Like a fairytale, only better. Loved it, Sherry!

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  31. Sherry,

    I so loved those 'sixty years of seasons.' How magical and most fitting!! This was a great adventure taken with your poetic words today. Thank you for the experience:)
    Happy Sunday and hope your spirits are refreshed again,
    Eileen:)

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  32. Yes I'm all for flying at any age. Fluff out your feathers and take off Madam!

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  33. Sherry this was breath-taking and I feel so blessed to have read it. I want to meet that owl! Mystical, whimsical and brimming full of faerie magic. I am a serious fan!

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  34. Grow back your clipped wings... THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I'M DOING NOW, SHERRY! And I didn't realize it until I read your poem. You are so often my diviner!

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  35. Wonderful words!

    Love your header too. :<)

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  36. What a fantastic piece Sherry. So many times our wings are clipped by circumstance or simply we "let" circumstances clip our wings. Over the past couple of years I have relearned how to fly.

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  37. What a fantastic piece Sherry. So many times our wings are clipped by circumstance or simply we "let" circumstances clip our wings. Over the past couple of years I have relearned how to fly.

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  38. Ha! This is wonderful. What about having an old and foolish face! This is a lovely piece, Sherry. k.

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  39. really fabulous finish, Sherry, to this modern fairy tale

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  40. what a dazzling little tale. the identity theme is so nicely spun with whimsy.

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