Friday, June 11, 2010

Yellow-Bark Trees


In a forest of yellow-bark trees
you can hear the whispering of unborn books
and equations not yet solved.

In a city of yellow telephone poles
the graphite wires hum
with the communication of secrets.

Yellow shafts of light
fall from the ceiling of a cave
twined with birdsong.
Yellow carp rise from lake shadows
with wisdom pearls in their mouths.

In the sweaty hands of children
yellow pencils scratch and rustle.
Yellow pillars reach toward the roofs
of temples of knowledge.

--image courtesy of Magpie Tales
Collection available! Knocking from Inside

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love "the whispering of unborn books" , wonderful magpie....bkm

Aoife.Troxel said...

If only we all could hear the whispering of unborn books...The imagery was amazing! Brilliant Magpie.

Kathe W. said...

a forest of yellow-bark trees...such imagery-wonderful Magpie

Helen said...

You brought these pencils to life! Nice Magpie!

Yemalla said...

Who knew the humble pencil could, in itself, be so inspiring? Loved your poem.

Sue J said...

I really enjoyed reading this. Thank you.

Paul C said...

Yellow shafts of light coming in varied ways in this world. Well done.

brenda w said...

Beautiful Magpie! As I am a teacher, the last stanza is my favorite. Oh, to inspire that rustle!

Tumblewords: said...

Exquisite imagery. Your words bring life to the page, as always.

Tess Kincaid said...

Yellow-licious!!

Angie Muresan said...

I absolutely love the imagery of this. Beautiful!

www.angiemuresan.com

Maureen Newman said...

Wonderfully done! Graphite wires hum with the communication of secrets! When the morning doves perch on my telephone wires and sing, I will wonder if they are sharing stories they hear humming through the wires.

Lyn said...

This is exceptional..wonderful imagination!

Brian Miller said...

fascinating poem...some wonderful imagery...whispering unborn books...i love the scratch of the pencil on paper too so glad you grabbed that...nice magpie!

showme said...

what a beautiful image.."unborn books" Awesome Magpie!

Stafford Ray said...

Any stanza could stand alone but together, magnificent!

Anonymous said...

beautiful imagery and metaphors, i will never look at a pencil the same way again!

Anonymous said...

So many wonderful images in this. LOVE the city of yellow telephone poles.

RA said...

Lovely and witty at the same time. Well done.

susan m hinckley said...

Loved this -- my favorite I've read so far. Great imagery all the way through, but I think I liked the 2nd stanza best -- a poem in itself.

Robert Lloyd said...

"In a forest of yellow-bark trees
you can hear the whispering of unborn books"

Loved that line and really enjoyed your Magpie.