.
(re-posted from August)
.
.I wonder, elfin tree,
does your sap long to rise?
Do your cells expand
although your limbs
are thwarted
every time they try to spread?
When your roots
run into walls
do they scream
at their containment?
Does it jar you
every time
you feel the cut?
If someday I plant you
in the garden, in the sun
would you remember
to remember
how to grow?
.
(c) 2002, 2016 Betty Hayes Albright
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give that elf tree a chance! 😀
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I agree, Linda. Something about the “growing” of bonsai has always made me very uncomfortable. Like seeing any other creature caged…..
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“Something about the “growing” of bonsai has always made me very uncomfortable. Like seeing any other creature caged…..”
Yes, since I was old enough to realise. Fish in tanks. As for bowls!
I also think about people who are stunted … And those who stunt themselves for one reason or another.
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I love this, Betty, and have always thought bonsai are just so cute! 🙂
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Thanks, Lauren – they are cute! But I always wonder if they’re frustrated….
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What a very imaginative perspective you’ve taken here….love it!
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Thank you, Charlie – glad you liked!
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Yes, Betty, as others have said here, how imaginative and it highlights your deep sensitivity – so profound.
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Thank you, David – I appreciate that! 🙂
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hi friend lovely poetry here , this one is original ,.delighted to come across your blog.welcome to mine .I’d be grateful if you put my blog on your blogroll if you deem it deserves that of course.bye for now.
http://wordwand.wordpress.com/
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Thanks for visiting my blog, Wordwand!
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This is superb, Betty. A poem with feelings of being trapped with the chance of freedom – but what to do with the freedom once it is given?
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Thank you, Martin. So glad you liked this. 🙂
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A deep question–“would you remember to remember how to grow?”
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Caddo, someone gave me a bonsai (similar to the one in the picture) many years ago that grows in a small planter on our deck. It calls out to me, and one day I’ll find out – if it can remember to remember….
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This post addresses an issue I used to wonder about all the time–would a bonsai placed outside and never trimmed again remember its own growth pattern? I love the metaphor here for how we stunt our own growth as creative folk!
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Granbee, I’ve had the same question about bonsai… as mentioned to Caddo, one day I’m going to find out if it can remember!
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Oh, I agree with Granbee’s perceptive comment! This poem made me smile as I thought about a small tree finding out who it is and growing wildly into itself again, freeing up the binding and cutting of its heart and limbs. A great poem, as usual, Betty.
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Thomas, thank you – my thoughts exactly about this poor, “caged” tree!
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Whilst I appreciate the skill in growing bonsai, I also wonder how the tree feels to be so constrained in its miniature landscape.
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Margaret, me too – I can’t look at a bonsai without wondering the same. There is a sadness about them…..
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This is wonderful, Betty! A very unique reflection and playfully and profoundly written. Although the art of bonsai is fascinating, there’s something very controlling about it. Your poem shows a preference for letting life–whether human, animal or vegetable, etc–discover it’s true growth and potential. Gives a new take on ‘finding one’s roots’.
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Thanks very much, Diane! And yes, I think living things deserve to fulfill their purpose – by finding their roots, if they haven’t already. Of course there’s the food chain, so nature itself doesn’t always make this possible. But somehow bonsai growing seems like an arrogant and needless exploitation. (Can you tell – I’m one of those who talks to her plants and hugs trees? – ha! 🙂 )
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To be literal: ater maybe 3 years, a bonsai tree will again try to grow its leaves to full size. Thus, the tree has to be “reminded” that it is a bonsai–the large leaves must be cut off, so the tree will again produce the smaller leaves. I’m no expert on bonsai, but this is my understanding.
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Michael, thanks for the interesting information! I was given my bonsai as a gift (from a dear person who didn’t know my true feelings about bonsai) and it’s about 14 years old. It might be too late to remind it that it doesn’t have to be cramped and miniaturized. I might try transplanting it into a large container and see how it does. And if it starts to grow and develop a normal root ball, then maybe I could try it in the garden.
Thank you again for reading, and for your comment.
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Burst free, burst free and reach for the sky, spread your limbs wide be a resting place for the birds that fly! I love little Bonsai Trees but why mess with nature?
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Thank you – I agree, Willow! 🙂
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I know some people who are such bad gardeners they grow bonsai trees accidently 🙂
Good one Betty.
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LOL, Dennis. Yes, the accidental bonsai – sometimes lucky to be alive at all!
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Have wondered likewise, would the tree know to grow to full size if planted in the ground with full distance all around, and like this poem of yours, ” Interview with a Bonsai”…
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