Best Willows Poems
Sigh you wind whispering willows
Green sentinels of the ocean blue
Her feet edge no more the billows
Where canoes dock and salt sprays spew
Sigh for the loss of responsiblity
Sigh for the death of sensibility
See you not these cold, worn stones
That in their stoic composure stay
And water laps sand muted of groans
Though a mutual tenant passed away
O willows weep, for the sun is set
On my heart made barren by regret.
She lived here without pretense or grief
Scrubbing floors, clothes, pots, and pans
For pittance spent as dust in a sieve
She earned her status with her hands
And knew all the fishermen by name
Who sold her the small ones when she came.
By light of night she fed her family food
And by the faith of her soul she stood
Against fear or doubt, grace was the mood
Tears was from the smoke of cooking wood
Weep then for the lady gone in silence
And stir the stones to standard sentience
Categories:
willows, death
Form:
Verse
Where willows sway in wintry woe
Sunrise shimmers on falling snow
While crimson dawn in scarlet rays
Glimmers the face of morning’s haze
As new day smiles on golden glow
On whirling winds white flurries blow
Autumn's remnants in frozen throe
While winter shudders frosted glaze
Where willows sway
Giggling blue streams struggle to flow
On thawing prairie’s splendid show
As snowflakes glisten parched malaise
Clueless that soon spring will amaze
When in meadows blossoms will grow
Where willows sway
Written: March 6, 2021
Submitted on November 11, 2022 to:
Placed 9th: 2022 Poetry Marathon Mile 20 Poetry Contest
Sponsor: Mark Toney
Placed 1st: All Yours (March 8) by Brian Strand
Categories:
willows, nature, seasons,
Form:
Rondeau
'Tis now known why the Willow weeps,
a tragedy of love, its memory keeps.
For once a young man and young maid,
on tender grass, beneath branches lay.
Though pledged by birth to another,
from clans they hid, to be together.
Thus, the gentle Willow was their choice,
meeting beneath, till love they could voice.
The Willow held these secret lovers dear,
so would lower its boughs, when they drew near.
Thus tucked away in the Willow's womb,
could lay as one, yet this love was doomed.
For jealousy lurked within the pines,
spying young lovers thus entwined,
behind Willow's curtain of slender limbs,
He swore the maiden, would yet be his.
Thus, it came to pass one day,
as young maid softly made her way,
to their Willow, deep within the glen,
espied the branches did already bend.
Timidly, as she did draw near,
soft sound of sorrow fell upon her ears.
Parting Willow's branches to look within,
a dampness did touch upon her skin.
The Willow was shedding sap laden tears,
for the young man, in death, was near.
'Twas an arrow that had been used,
a potent poison, the tip infused.
The maiden, now blind with grieving mist,
pulled out the arrow, held it, in clenched fist.
Whilst cradled in love's arms, did he draw last breath.
Then, young maid, plunged the arrow, into her breast.
And so it is, that this story is told,
as the Willow's grief would not be consoled.
For unable to stop what had befell,
the young lovers, it had hid so well.
With will broken, as lovers lay dead,
the Willow, its branches, never again spread.
And because it is the memory it keeps,
it is to this day, that the Willow weeps.
Categories:
willows, death, fantasy, lost love,
Form:
Ballad
Ascending from a fertile earth
The graceful Willow flaunts it's birth
Toward the sky it's branches rise
Like skyrockets in disguise
Then bursting with a rockets flare
Creating star bursts in the air,
They gently fall back toward the ground
And weep without a sound
Bob Quigley
Sept 30, 2011
Dedicated to Andrea Dietrich who, if she were a tree, would like to be a willow.
Categories:
willows, nature,
Form:
Rhyme
Weeping willow tell me,
Why is it that you cry?
For is it that no ears can hear,
The stories that you sigh?
Weeping willow tell me,
Why do you hang your head?
What is it that your thinking,
That makes you bow with dread?
Weeping willow tell me,
What's in store for thee?
Can you see the future?
What is it that you see?
Weeping willow tell me,
Why is it that you cry?
If only I could hear you,
Please don't think I pry.
Weeping willow tell me,
What are the words you say?
I only seek the answers from beneath the branches I lay.
Categories:
willows, imagination, nature,
Form:
Personification
Tomorrow’s times are in these eyes of mine.
Away and far my world shall part.
The Seas shall rise from their depths of deep.
And in the glow of the shadows the willows will weep.
The Sun will rise as my days still come,
The glory, the power, it is the rains with Sun.
Tomorrow’s times are in these days of mine.
Far and gone my world shall bond.
The Mountains will fall from their heights they climb.
And in the glow of the shadows the willows will shine.
Tomorrow’s times are in these thoughts of mine.
Gone and here my world shall fear.
The Lands will separate the world by Sea,
And in the glow of the shadows the willows will be.
Tomorrow’s times I know are mine.
Here it is that I fear I’m near.
My Land, my Seas, my Mountains of plain sight,
And in the glow of the shadows the willows shall shed their light.
®Registered: Ann Rich 1998
Categories:
willows, dedication, devotion, faith, health,
Form:
Narrative
my heart was a small glad sparrow
which soared on a sonnet’s dulcet breeze
there stood in a dark and dreadful forest -
not stooping for anything -
old oaks with leafless limbs
Old cold oaks, so rigid and stern,
a sparrow’s heart they would slay.
No lesson from them do I learn -
for they neither bend nor sway.
give me bright meadows
where the trees delight in song
poetry blossoms
where trees can weep with feeling
and too. . . be willows that sway
April 21, 2018 for Broken Wing's "It's All About Four" Poetry Contest
Categories:
willows, writing,
Form:
Verse
Mankind in all his stupidity and greed is slowly destroying our beautiful earth, the warnings are there but he chooses to ignore them.
Quote by poet.
I sat down under the cool shade of some weeping willow trees,
a babbling brook flowed nearby and was so soothing to hear.
I felt totally relaxed then I fell asleep and started to dream.
So, I asked the trees a question why is it that you all weep?
one said" We weep because of the way man treats mother earth,
he cuts down her forests because of greed causing climate change,
he dumps rubbish in her great oceans and is killing all her wildlife,
and causes great conflicts because others don't share his views.
So, you see my friend we don't have much to be happy about".
A plane flying overhead finally woke me up from my deep sleep.
It troubled me what I'd dreamt and as I walked away, I wept with them.
Categories:
willows, nature, sad, tree, water,
Form:
Free verse
The judge sent me to spend ten years in jail,
After a sweet talking lawyer saved my tail,
The wind which blows the soul of men from grave to grave,
Told me of your messages and reminded me of the pleasure we had those days,
They called me nuts and said that they were all in my head,
Especially the psychologist whose wife cried of loneliness every night in bed.
I am a tall mean looking woman these days,
With little hair and a haggard face,
I'm thinner than when we met,
Broken by life, broken by death.
They released me from jail today,
And I thought it worthy to come to your grave today,
So here I am Sweet Elizabeth,
This pen in my hand,
This knife at bay,
Hoping to join the band of holy and unholy men,
That will be taken by death today.
I hope to see you today,
Maybe in heaven or maybe in hell,
That's why I kneel besides your grave,
That's why I've made this choice so brave.
There are a thousand ways to write a poem,
A million ways to kill a man,
A billion ways to show that you are waiting,
A trillion ways to tell that a good soul is dead,
But on that day you left,
I stood there a soul bereft,
Waiting, yet knowing that you're dead.
I loved you more than Shakespeare loved the theatre,
More than Tesla loved to tinker,
More than Einstein loved his head,
More than America hated the Nazis,
Till they said that I was mad,
Till I killed the driver who took you to hell,
Till they took me to jail,
Till heaven came and went.
But love is never enough they say,
Not enough to feed or clothe your radiant beauty like summer's day,
Never enough to stop the claws of death,
Never enough to heal the madness of a tortured soul,
Never enough to stop this pain.
I'll be lying beside your grave,
As you lay on my hands that day,
The sands will soak my blood,
As my clothes soaked yours,
You'll see me in pain,
As I saw yours that fateful day,
You will hear my mourning,
You will feel the writhing of my body atop your grave,
You will hear my soul going with the wind,
You will hear the willows blowing in the wind,
And not even your tears which I hear in my head every day will convince me to stay,
Till the wind blows down a thousand willows,
For if the wind blows a thousand willows,
Then I'll be dead,
I'll be holding you in the darkness,
Kissing your every being...My sweet Elizabeth.
Categories:
willows, absence, desire, loneliness, lonely,
Form:
Romanticism
pendant green leaves weep
branches bend toward the ground-
peacocks prance and preen
peahens understand
bright blue-feathers fan out-
winds whisper secrets
grey frog croaks loudly
willow canopy is home-
cottage red door opens
Categories:
willows, nature,
Form:
Haiku
Pussy Willows
Among the wild cattails marsh,
Wetlands mire and morass harsh,
Pussy Willow buds appear
In warm grey fur chase off winter’s jeers.
Close to streams they sink deep roots
Laps up milk of streamlet’s fruits
Vernal purr of perfection
Sacred siren of Resurrection.
2-8-22
Contest: A Poem Crafted In the Various Lind30 by Robert Lindley
Sponsor: Chantelle Anne Cooke
Syllable count 7779. According to Robert Lindley poem can be rhymed or unrhymed.
Categories:
willows, nature,
Form:
Verse
By the willows,
where the sun shone gazing,
streaming through arbors hazed,
And apple-cider scents were fermenting,
by a pasture where the tree-people play ----
sits a cottage by the bay
Where the willows weep long to seeking love,
and sway they through will-o-wisps above,
Every evening the mountains moan with mists,
with rainbows upon their darkling tips;
polka-dot rocks along the path....
and always butterfly's about the saplings,
red earth rich from summer moons....
(a cottage there by the willows)
Categories:
willows, beauty, nature, peace,
Form:
Rhyme
Pussy willows are growing
By by a creek running free
Tiny little tufts of soft fur
Are very appealing to me
Wrapped in parkas
Around their chins
Insulated from
The March winds
In the month of April
Leaves will appear again
And Nature's little kittens
Will make the children grin
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Categories:
willows, nature, seasons,
Form:
Rhyme
winter willows weep
along pond's edge~
otters Play
Categories:
willows, adventure, animals, nature, places,
Form:
Haiku
Wallowing flowers
Wading in placid waters
Pendants of sorrow
Categories:
willows, nature, sad, seasons,
Form:
Haiku