lex lazarus
Speaking Tree
Joy Harjo, 1951
I had a beautiful dream I was dancing with a tree.
—Sandra Cisneros
Some things on this earth are unspeakable:
Genealogy of the broken—
A shy wind threading leaves after a massacre,
Or the smell of coffee and no one there—
Some humans say trees are not sentient beings,
But they do not understand poetry—
Nor can they hear the singing of trees when they are fed by
Wind, or water music—
Or hear their cries of anguish when they are broken and bereft—
Now I am a woman longing to be a tree, planted in a moist, dark earth
Between sunrise and sunset—
I cannot walk through all realms—
I carry a yearning I cannot bear alone in the dark—
What shall I do with all this heartache?
The deepest-rooted dream of a tree is to walk
Even just a little ways, from the place next to the doorway—
To the edge of the river of life, and drink—
I have heard trees talking, long after the sun has gone down:
Imagine what would it be like to dance close together
In this land of water and knowledge. . .
To drink deep what is undrinkable.
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/speaking
symbol:
The tree is the major symbol of the poem as human nature is compared to it. The tree also represents the speaker as they compare her self.
Bio:
Sandra Cisneros is a writer and poet who is Mexican-American. she was born in Chicago in 1958 as the third child of 7. She was a teacher in creative writing for most grades. she has Written 7 quite popular books and many works of poetry. She has won many awards and relatively recently started the Macondo Foundation
https://www.sandracisneros.com/mylifeandwork/
Analyzation
This poem in a way summarizes how one can connect to something very different. How something can be normal, yet wrong in the big picture. How sometimes fear of the known can be worse than the unknown if its know to be scary. she anthropomorphize the elements of nature and compares it to gaining knowledge.
I had a beautiful dream I was dancing with a tree.
—Sandra Cisneros
Some things on this earth are unspeakable:
Genealogy of the broken—
A shy wind threading leaves after a massacre,
Or the smell of coffee and no one there—
Genealogy of the broken—
A shy wind threading leaves after a massacre,
Or the smell of coffee and no one there—
Some humans say trees are not sentient beings,
But they do not understand poetry—
But they do not understand poetry—
Nor can they hear the singing of trees when they are fed by
Wind, or water music—
Or hear their cries of anguish when they are broken and bereft—
Wind, or water music—
Or hear their cries of anguish when they are broken and bereft—
Now I am a woman longing to be a tree, planted in a moist, dark earth
Between sunrise and sunset—
Between sunrise and sunset—
I cannot walk through all realms—
I carry a yearning I cannot bear alone in the dark—
I carry a yearning I cannot bear alone in the dark—
What shall I do with all this heartache?
The deepest-rooted dream of a tree is to walk
Even just a little ways, from the place next to the doorway—
To the edge of the river of life, and drink—
Even just a little ways, from the place next to the doorway—
To the edge of the river of life, and drink—
I have heard trees talking, long after the sun has gone down:
Imagine what would it be like to dance close together
In this land of water and knowledge. . .
In this land of water and knowledge. . .
To drink deep what is undrinkable.
https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/speaking
symbol:
The tree is the major symbol of the poem as human nature is compared to it. The tree also represents the speaker as they compare her self.
Bio:
Sandra Cisneros is a writer and poet who is Mexican-American. she was born in Chicago in 1958 as the third child of 7. She was a teacher in creative writing for most grades. she has Written 7 quite popular books and many works of poetry. She has won many awards and relatively recently started the Macondo Foundation
https://www.sandracisneros.com/mylifeandwork/
Analyzation
This poem in a way summarizes how one can connect to something very different. How something can be normal, yet wrong in the big picture. How sometimes fear of the known can be worse than the unknown if its know to be scary. she anthropomorphize the elements of nature and compares it to gaining knowledge.
Indeed, it is interesting how the speaker wishes to become a tree in order to avoid all of her problems. I wonder why the speaker wishes to be a tree specifically... Surely there are plenty of other flora to become that would satisfy her needs. Despite listing numerous reasons why being a tree is optimal, the speaker may also yearn to be a tree because they could also have a secret yearning to keep others live despite their personal pain as trees produce oxygen. This is a common feeling among those that are personally hurt, but can't bring themselves to be a detriment to others.
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