Written ca. 1957; published on 15 April 2021

Dear Ones,

This was the first poem I ever wrote, when I was eight or 10 years old, when I was just learning cursive handwriting. As I recall, I may have been inspired to write the poem after reading the poem “Trees” by Joyce Kilmer, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Still today I feel that trees are my friends. I am not above talking to my friends the jacaranda trees in front of my house. They like it when people speak to them … They say no one ever does, here in the City of the Angels … It cheers me up to cheer them up.

I remember how triumphant I felt that I could write a poem, although I could see it was nowhere near quality of the beautiful poem by Joyce Kilmer. I thought I might like to set the poem to music, but I never did. As can be seen, I have gussied up the punctuation and spelling …

Oh Beautiful, Colorful Tree
A Poem by Alice B. Clagett
ca. 1957

Oh beautiful, colorful tree —
Beauty that no bounds know.
Perfectly shaped, perfectly formed,
With no leaves displace to show;

Gently caressed by the wind —
Caressed with motherly care.
High above the sun-filled meadow —
High as the birds of the air,

Where did you get such bright colors —
Colors so rich and rare —
And in winter take such forlorn looks —
Looks so distressful and bare

Then in spring burst into bloom —
Bloom so green and radiant?
These things I sit pondering o’er
Pondering o’er in wonderment

But now I must continue —
continue on my way
Yet – Wait! the soft breeze whispers —
Whispers and seems to say,

The Supreme One has made me —
Me in all my might
Makes me change with the seasons —
Seasons so pretty and bright

Yes, the Ruler of all made me —
Ruler of All, Ruler of Right.

Image: “Oh Beautiful, Colorful Tree 1,” handwritten by Alice B. Clagett, ca. 1957, CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: “Oh Beautiful, Colorful Tree 2,” handwritten by Alice B. Clagett, ca. 1957, CC BY-SA 4.0

. . . . .

–from Link: “Oh Beautiful, Colorful Tree,” a poem by Alice B. Clagett, written ca. 1957; published on 15 April 2021 … https://wp.me/p2Rkym-mm8 ..

……….

Alice B. Clagett

Except where otherwise noted, “The Chalice and the Crucible” by Alice B. Clagett … https://chaliceandcrucible.com/ … is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0) … https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ..

LINCOLN, LOOK!
A Poem by Alice B. Clagett
amongst her early works

The sun is a young man.
How the ocean flirts with him.
How the warmth of his touch rouses her
How she fragments and multiplies upon herself
. . . . . . . . in a thousand changing places
. . . . . . . . the thousand changing faces
. . . . . . . . of his glory.

Lincoln, look!
The sun is an old man.
How he disdains his menstrous wife
for his moist mistress.
How jealous moon will not allow
Ocean to sleep under his hand.

. . . . . . . . No sleep, and mother of so many.
. . . . . . . . They should invent a pill for her.
. . . . . . . . Would she think it unnatural?

No mind. From time to time a piece of her
Settles in some dead sea
where, for lack of change, it grows more bitter salt
than its changeful aspect ever knew.

Change is her nature and her tears nourish
all her children.

……….

Alice B. Clagett

Except where otherwise noted, “The Chalice and the Crucible” by Alice B. Clagett … https://chaliceandcrucible.com/ … is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0) … https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ..

Journaled on 11 June 2003; published on2 7 July 2019

Dear Ones,

What do whales do
when raw wounds gape?

They have
no hands to touch and heal
There are
no bandaids for a whale

Must they then give
their wounded selves
wholly into Ocean’s care?

So like our hearts
waiting to recall
that vaster sea that buoys us

Like the girl that rides the whale
I yearn to shed this frame and be
more

Not this or that

Past what this little mind conceives

Beyond these words
and any thought of me

. . . . .

Alice B. Clagett

Except where otherwise noted, “The Chalice and the Crucible” by Alice B. Clagett … https://chaliceandcrucible.com/ … is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (CC BY-SA 4.0) … https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ ..