Best Maple Poems
I see you there in forest deep
When the world is still asleep
You ...the defiant one
With your hardened backside
Turned to me
And I ... hearing through frozen ears
The cracking whispers that you speak
Before you fall in utter silence
The last leaf of autumn
At my feet
Too long since smooth sapling skin
bent supple with the slightest breeze;
now stretched, fissured and furrowed -
bored, burned and bent -
sliced, scarred and carved, yet
I have lived wonderfully and fully.
Old limbs that once swung
a laughing child and sheltered
more than one forbidden kiss;
the only witness to many lonely tears
and, at least as many hopeful prayers.
Why pensive then, when so many
would desire my fate?
Perhaps those melancholy desires
for what was, when I stood not
quite as tall, when many
proud elders surrounded me,
wise and strong but now gone.
I will soon join them but
today a Robin tickles my brow -
a home for one more brood
and October will find one last shout
of crimson beauty ... I am still
proud.
Maple in red wears her mantle with ease,
Ravishing crown with geranium sheen.
Teasingly tossing her mane in the breeze,
Spring until autumn she's dressed like a queen!
Ravishing crown with geranium sheen,
Swishing in whispering florid attire,
Spring until autumn she's dressed like a queen,
Sunlight does kiss scarlet petals afire.
Swishing in whispering florid attire,
She's lofty, saucy and flaunts savoir-faire.
Sunlight does kiss scarlet petals afire,
Her pageantry fits her Majesty's flair!
She's lofty, saucy and flaunts savoir-faire,
Teasingly tossing her mane in the breeze,
Her pageantry fits her Majesty's flair,
Maple in red wears her mantle with ease.
Susan Ashley
July 15, 2017
There is a field that we all know
That passed a torch where Soldiers go
Those that fell fought to the end
From that field they did ascend
To look upon the light relay
That made us free free this day
Rest in peace we do remember
This is done eleven November
In a field that's now a lot
Rows of cars I did spot
In the air a poppy blowing
Where I wonder is it going
Among the maple leaves that fell
This poppies color blended well
Lost it there but for a moment
Young child's find leaves bestowment
Conferred unknown mom what's this?
This my child so we don't miss
Small reminder Veterans that passed
So all can live in peace ever last
Our flag makes us proud no matter where we roam
Proud as beavers about this great land called home
A maple leaf is our symbol
An image so simple
Yet so meaningful in the hearts of all us gnomes
What do people see,
When looking at a maple tree?
Could be soft green leaves in June;
Maybe it’s shade on a July afternoon.
Perchance a golden kitchen table;
Or a hardwood floor, strong and stable.
Perhaps it’s sap for maple syrup.
Some might see a tree to climb up.
Images of dazzling red Autumn leaves;
Fuel for a fire on a frigid eve.
All of these, I do believe;
Are gifts of a maple tree.
That lonely maple tree on the mighty green hill,
still hides my secret letters and beloved quill,
Oh the jubilant friend I'd found on a summer day,
it embraced me with lush branches on heaps of hay.
My hushed fears siphoned by soothing hums of breeze,
forlorn desires weaved into stories of azure seas,
it cocooned my dreams in wisps of green infant leaves,
that sprinkle dew drops when the little robin grieves.
Ambrosial baskets of delicious mangoes that I savor,
it shaded them until you embellished a rosy red flavor,
you slept in my arms as I heard a nervous cuckoo sing,
the maple branches swayed in glee, to love they cling.
Our fingers draped in icy whispers under magenta sky,
at twilight we shivered in the fervent wind to fly,
shooting stars adorned maple leaves on dark nights,
our recluse in golden sequins of blinking silver lights.
It still melts my summer stories on yellowed pages,
leaves marked with your name haven't faded since ages,
tonight I'll dance to rhapsodies of that fiery healing love,
peeping from crevices of leaves to your galaxies above.
June 23, 2020
Summer Love Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Chantelle Anne Cooke
~Winner: 1st Place
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood….”
Robert,
You let the split remain unresolved,
and while we stand in awe,
staring at your crossroads
etched in gold and shadow,
do you ever wonder
what lay beyond the path
you did not take?
Even though you say,
“I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.”
Did the road arch upward,
an unfamiliar melody on the wind?
Or did it tumble into brambles,
a half-forgotten warning?
Even now I see your boots----
Mud-caked, maple-tinged-----
pausing at the edge.
Here’s my advice, if you allow it:
Don’t linger too long
in the pondering.
Step once more
into the thicket, the gravel,
the unknown blaze of paths.
And when your pen hesitates,
push it further
to sketch the forest where both trails end-----
or perhaps where they entwine,
branches brushing like old friends.
Some questions don’t need answers,
but oh, how they crave
a different kind of wandering.
Regarding Robert Frost’s famous poem, ‘The Road Not Taken’.
Dear Maple Tree
Dear maple tree, a sapling fifty years ago,
you, one of three, stood guardian in summer's glow
to shelter our front yard with limbs and shady leaves,
while we matured, you did so too, to serve and please.
But now, dear maple tree...a warrior, you stand;
with solid trunk sliced deep by nature's wrath unplanned,
you braved those forceful winds our fierce tornado brought.
Against that monster, your deep roots so strongly fought.
These days new strengthened beauty you present to me...
your trunk is slashed and splintered, yet so stealthily,
you thrive with that and missing limbs to carry on,
with fewer branches, blooming still upon our lawn.
Dear battered warrior, so tender that first spring;
years later, cradling kids and grandkids on your swing.
You served us well back then, and now I bow to you...
your new artistic presence warms my heart anew.
Sandra M. Haight
~2nd Place~
Contest: That Was Then, This Is Now
Sponsor: Silent One
Judged: 01/27/2019
A very strong tornado devastated our area, May 15, 2018
Mixed warm, cool days moisture
Maple leaves transform from
Midsummer's green to red
Make fall's crown, or golden
Maidenhead "Goldie Locks"
Magnificent leaves twirl
Magnify gold on the lawn
Thursday, March the 5th of the year 2015
Another hockey battle comes along the way
It's a hockey night across the bay
And for the fans, it's a night of pride and respect
Thursday night with the blue and white
Trying to play for their season pride
Thursday night with the black and blue
Trying to play for their playoffs ride
When the dance on the ice begins to ring
Their voices of strong support will begin to sing
With an atmosphere of a pep rally from high school
The cheers of a true fan - a hockey team's supporting tool
Toronto Maple Leafs - the underdog team
Coming away from the bay to fight for respect
Tampa Bay Lightning - the elite team
Coming from the bay to keep their respect
From the cheers of "GO LEAFS GO" away from home
To the cheers of "LET'S GO LIGHTNING" close to home
Hockey Night in Tampa Bay - a worthy game to expect
And their season matchup will be known as "The Hockey Battle of Respect"
I awake from winters slumber
As my sap begins to flow
My buds will shortly sprout
While my limbs begin to grow
I watch the many animals
That start to come around
To some I am a gym
While others lay quite sound
The birds will make their nest
In my many boughs
The weave each little nest
With great skill it's quite a show
I've stood the test of time
As the seasons come and go
When summer comes I'll be
The shade that you love so
There used to be some children
Who would climb my sturdy limbs
They'd play all day around me
Their joy to me were hymns
When fall comes to pass
I put on my favorite suit
With reds oranges and yellows
The owl will even give a hoot
My sap is what I'm famous for
It taste so sweet when boiled down
I tell you just one sip of it
Will make a smile right from a frown
Now When my days are through
My journey still goes on
I may become a bedstead
Or a table for someone
Someone may yet use me
For a ceiling or a floor
You see my wood is prized
For many things even a door
But now I will just stand here
For everyone to see
The majesty and wonder
Of me the Sugar Maple tree
Created 7/21/15 for the Trees Personified contest
Those maple donuts
Surely will by my ruin.
Lack of self control.
At peace with the outdoors,
Where life's creatures roam
Within nature, I am at home.
The North East is where I grew.
My roots I barely knew.
As the seasons drift,
I accommodate the shift;
Embracing them all.
Feeling most alive during fall;
A time bright colors enthrall.
The wind touches me like an old friend.
Our movements dance and blend.
Arms with body sway as hands flutter around;
Flapping until they rest and fall down.
I may appear fragile;
A belief unfounded.
I am by nature;
Born well-grounded.
As birds and insects gently fly,
People sit or stand nearby
Admiring beauty, as if they see
An inner sweetness inside of me--
A commodity untapped and sought,
Without pride, I embrace that thought.
My arms branch out
Towards the southern skies,
Thankful for all it supplies.
In time my outer skin loosens and cracks with wear,
From the wind's motion and the sun's glare.
My girth is another rough gauge
Of the circles of years that determine my age.
Lovers have engraved their affection;
I am a part of life's connection.
And when my form of existence does cease...
Just as before I began, I will end in peace.
08/23/15
Blätter des Ahorn
Fallen auf taufrisches Gras
In hebstlichem Gelb
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The leaves of maple
Are falling on dewy grass
In autumnal yellow
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Las hojas de arce
Caen en hierba de rocío
En otoñal amarillo