Farewell Tree

Remarkable, I absolutely love the idea of a tree being housing for passing by ghosts, it just makes so much sense. But I did associate this with something more chilling, I instinctively thought of the Bella & Wych Elm case - four children had discovered the skeleton of a woman in a tree in England, and a year later someone had graffitied 'Who put bella in the wych elm' in the city, and that case had always stuck with me, it also made me think of that killer who broke into a house in the US and killed the family and kidnapped one of them and had concealed their bodies in a tree. There's an image of Eos holding her dead son, Memnon that later inspired the painting/sculpture Pieta, most commonly associated with Michelangelo's sculpture, there's also an image of Achilles (who was aided by Athena) being mourned by Thetis that also inspired the Pieta. This poem is truly rich, one of my favourites by you, for sure!

This is a fantastic piece of writing and I can't believe it was such a simple prompt that inspired such a deep little write! You have grown so much in your writing and the language here is so different from when I remember!

I think this piece will do well in the competition, it is just so "prfessionally" put together and I like how you have given the reader the idea of trees being home to more things in nature, I guess we don't really see them as anything other than a tree sometimes and pass y them so often without a thought of why they are there, and we often take them for granted for what they do actually provide us with! I also like the idea of ghosts being able to nest in them, it kind of gave me an idea that you could write a poem about where do ghosts sleep? I had never in my life thought of that until reading this one, and I just thought wow, I think that would make a great bed! It made me think that so many of us who scatter ashes usally scatter them on a tree, or bury them under a tree, again making me think back to where that spirit would sleep.

Fantastic write, well done you!

Those trees are huge, some of them thousands of years old. Did you know that they keep growing tall until they reach the top of the surrounding trees. Once they've achieved that they don't grow any taller, they just fill out. Like me, really!

Nice work weaving Greek mythology into this and well done with the format.

I liked this poem a whole lot. For some reason these lines stood out to me.

You became a home
not only to the living,
but a companion to
transiting ghosts.

I just liked the idea of birds and various other live species living there but the thought of ghosts stopping perhaps for a last goodbye was very appealing.

THIS POEM! STAAARRR!!!

I feel like I continually have new favorites from you. I think this is one of the best you've written. The reference to the Greek goddesses, the intimacy of the earth and wisdom of nature, the hope for immortality yet seeing the tree age and face its death. The last few lines, "bleed", made me think of the physical signs of deterioration of this beloved tree. Bleeding sap, peeling bark...

I love the depth of, at first, thinking the roots are clinging on for dear life, for stability over the years. But the roots gave more than they received. Touching the earth and the surroundings, breathing life and knowledge and so much more.

The line of being a home made me think of the book "The Giving Tree". It also was beautiful to read the idea of ghosts passing by, finding comfort in this tree, and perhaps feeling less alone. Or nurtured by memories. Or finding peace. Trees are absolute treasures, and seeing them suffer, is heartbreaking. The connection we can feel with them and the comfort/support they give is endless <3