Crystal Tree

by Wiggy

Published September 14, 2007

There she stands-
limbs embracing the sky,
olive coattails flapping lazily
in the wind.
Crystal tears dangle--
frozen--in time.
The last of her kind--
firm,
steady,
stong.

A woodpecker alights,
tapping hastily at her shell.
She sways,
but the claws have already
latched on.
Finally, sickeningly--
a hole.

She is gaping.

Satisfied, the pecker
launches into the distance--
away.

And finally,
a crystal tear falls.

-------
I hope to God this is better than the last poem I posted. I rather like it; yeah, depressing, but it's poetry, right? I just saw the tree while sitting in the woods today, and the words just flowed.

Thanks for the crits! You all know you want to read it. 8)

Wiggy ;)

Comments & reviews · 9
User avatar
Emerson
Review
Emerson wrote a review Review · Sep 18, 2007

Better. :D

I half liked this, and half didn't. Not your fault; I'm not a person for nature poems. I like meanings and things, not the sadness of trees. ^_~

Beautiful imagery, though. This was my favorite part:

Finally, sickeningly--
a hole.

She is gaping.


Sorry, this is short. I can't think of much to say.

User avatar
Knurla
Review
Knurla wrote a review Review · Sep 18, 2007

I have to agree with Kitty, the "crystal tear" part needs to be fixed.
And "strong", that was just a common mistake.

Other than that, I really liked it. The imagery was really pretty.


Where it says "Crystal tears dangle-- frozen--in time." Just a suggestion: add a semicolon after "dangle" and take the "--" out from behind frozen. Just a suggestion.
Great job!

User avatar
GingerLizzy
Review
GingerLizzy wrote a review Review · Sep 18, 2007

This is written beautifully, but I am not sure about the structure of this poem. I didn't really like it, as it seemed to mess with the flow and made it all skew-iff. Maybe you should go for the traditional apprach of the stanzas and verses and such. This may just be personal preference though, as I'm not very adventurous with my structures, so I applaud you for being more creative and braver than me.

It flowed wonderfully and I found that the imagary was perfect - I couldn't ask for any more to give for my imagination to run riot amongst the words.

Good work!

User avatar
Someguy
Comment
Someguy commented Comment · Sep 18, 2007

Not bad, not good but great!!
Really loved it.
There were a few things you could've changed but I'll pretend I didnt see it.
Really good
Keep it up. :)

User avatar
Wiggy
Comment
Wiggy commented Comment · Sep 18, 2007

Thanks for all the suggestions, guys. :D

Will improve soon!

User avatar
Jasmine Hart
Review
Jasmine Hart wrote a review Review · Sep 14, 2007

It's lovely, but I think that some of your phrases jar a little, eg "latches"and "launches". I think you could use better words here.
Overall it flowed nicely, and your enjmabment is good.As Kitty said, your imagery is good. Just a little polish and it will be perfect. Maybe try reading it aloud so you get a better sense of the flow.

User avatar
Stori
Comment
Stori commented Comment · Sep 14, 2007

Ooh, I love it! The idea is great. And it reminds me of "Crystal Chronicles." That's a great game, IMHO. Thanks for this!

User avatar
Rydia
Review
Rydia wrote a review Review · Sep 14, 2007

You have some nice imagery, a good theme and a lovely style of writing but some of the lines need a bit of work. Here's a few suggestions -

There she stands-
limbs embracing the sky,
olive coattails [This should probably be coat tails rather than 'coattails' but I think you could use a stronger image.] flapping lazily
in the wind.
Crystal tears dangle--
frozen--in time.
The last of her kind-- [The last of her kind? This confused me a little. Until this moment I was pretty sure you was describing a tree but there are lots of trees...]
firm,
steady,
strong.

A woodpecker alights,
tapping hastily at her shell.
She sways,
but the claws have already
latched on.
Finally, sickeningly--
a hole.

She is gaping.

Satisfied, the pecker
launches into the distance--
away.

And one more crystal tear falls. [You didn't mention the first one falling. You merely said that it was dangling and frozen in time so perhaps 'And at last, that crystal tear falls.' or maybe 'And one more crystal tear forms.']

In general, I did like the poem and I think it's a good piece of personification but you could include a touch more imagery and just neated up the odd line here and there. It's well written though.

*Edit* Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the title. I think you should change it so that the subject of the poem isn't so obvious because your description is sufficient for your reader to realise that you're talking about a tree.



We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a master.
— Ernest Hemingway