Sunday, December 2, 2012

Hollow



deep in the wintergreens
of twilight
it grows
 where birds of song
vacate homes in season’s passing,
gathering shadows of keeping;
 and berries, frozen—
are bejeweling 
the trampled floor
of the forest wide and deep
 of her glacial heart




Copyright 2012 Jennifer Wagner


69 comments:

Laura said...

Oh, that first line is incredibly inciting. How could one not read all the way through... but the ending feel sad, though this morning the forest floor is certainly a bit glacial with snow on the ground.

Anonymous said...

the circle of life....how bittersweet the journey can be.

Daydreamertoo said...

This sounds like a very magical place to go. As if one ought to tip-toe through in case it disturbs the magic... shhh

Beautiful write.

Mary said...

Enjoyed this very much. You chose beautiful words. "Wintergreens of twilight," for example. You worked so much into this verse...the sadness of the birds leaving, the frozen berries on the forest floor. A dense poem I read a few times & loved!

Abin Chakraborty said...

lovely images here.loved it.

aelfbee said...

I am blessed that some songsters come to visit my southern woods, so the place is not so hollow in this season. Thanks for a reminder.

Kerry O'Connor said...

This is a very beautiful lyrical poem.

ScottlB said...

beautiful images,lovely poem

Anonymous said...

I like the dense imagery of this poem, like a winter forest.

Audrey Howitt aka Divalounger said...

I agree with Laura--your beginning is so captivating--just a beautiful write Jennifer

WabiSabi said...

Oh how I enjoyed my walk 'deep in the wintergreens of twilight.' Such a lovely ode to the change of season.

Lolly said...

berries, frozen--are bejeweling the trampled floor

lovely line. lovely piece.
You bring the natural world up close for those of us in cyberland. I feel like I am there.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Very beautiful imagery in this poem. Lovely.

Unknown said...

You made me ponder the feeling of an icy-cold heart. I have never had that experience, until now of course. Your writing made it so. And, by the way, on a more temporal note, I enjoyed the vicarious sensation of winter in short sleeves and flip-flops as my Sonora Desert resists cooler daytime temps.

Serena said...

What a beautiful and powerful image... I especially liked

and berries, frozen—
are bejeweling
the trampled floor

How elegant is that!

Karen said...

A beautiful write. I read it a few times. I love "gathering shadows of keeping". It coveys the essence of winter so well.

Panchali said...

aha...beautiful imagery, poet laundry! Great composition:)

Jennifer Wagner said...

Laura, I'm glad it captured you. I wrote this as a natural and metaphorical piece so the sadness is definitely intended. Thanks for reading!

Brian Miller said...

first, i loved the forest as i escape there often...but the turn as well to it being in her heart...and the cold...it is sad...and turns many of the other phrases as well into something more to ponder...

rch said...

Very intense and you really nailed the ending, greatly enjoyed.

Anonymous said...

Oh, how beautiful!

Anonymous said...

How stunning!

kaykuala said...

bejeweling
the trampled floor
of the forest

Beautifully expressed Jenny! That whiff of goodness is very necessary to right the wrongs afflicting others.

Hank

Madeleine Begun Kane said...

Very intense. Well done!

Jennifer Wagner said...

ha I love that...shh...definitely...

Jennifer Wagner said...

Mary what a great compliment to me on this write! Thanks so much.

Jennifer Wagner said...

Glad you did :)

Karen said...

I'm marveling at the imagery here. Each one holds a lonely beauty.

Unknown said...

The meaning struck me on one level, but the pace and rhythm was what really impressed me with this
" the trampled floor
of the forest wide and deep"
particularly. Trampled is one of those sort of one and a half syllable words and it works so well here.

LLM Calling said...

makes me relive childhood explorations inthe woods. Thanks

Scarlet said...

Lovely details of nature ~ I like this line:
gathering shadows of keeping ~And her glacial heart, adds depth to the tranquility ~

Sabio Lantz said...

I'm a bit of a poetic ignoramus, so may I ask a few questions:

Why the title "hollow"?

What is "it" in the third line?

THanx

Sabio Lantz said...

PS -- don't know if you know this. But there is no option to be able to follow the comment thread by e-mail. Could you activate that?

Jennifer Wagner said...

Put my reply to this just below in your additional comment/question...

Jennifer Wagner said...

The definition of hollow is: having a space or cavity inside; empty; or it can mean a valley. I wrote this piece to be read literally and metaphorically. A hollow, “a forest valley,” in winter “empty” of songbirds, to be literal. And, as a metaphor, an icy heart growing more alone and empty. Thus the “it” that grows is the hollow itself…the space, the cavity, the emptiness. Also, you can have post comments delivered to your email if you have a Blogger/Google account.

Jennifer Wagner said...

Nice...thanks Libby.

Jennifer Wagner said...

Thank you very much Kerry.

Jennifer Wagner said...

Thanks T!

Jennifer Wagner said...

Glad you enjoyed it p-d, thanks for commenting.

Jennifer Wagner said...

Thanks Audrey, I appreciate your kind words, as always.

Jennifer Wagner said...

Thank you very much WS, really enjoyed your poem this week too!

Jennifer Wagner said...

What a wonderful compliment Lolly, thank you.

Jennifer Wagner said...

Thanks very much Sherry.

Jennifer Wagner said...

You got the double meaning...and flip-flops! I may need to live vicariously through you a bit! :-) Thanks so much Kim--always love your thoughtful comments to my posts.

Jennifer Wagner said...

Thank you so much Serena!

Sabio Lantz said...

Ah, now the "subscribe" option is there -- thanx.

Ah, so the "It" is "The Hollow" -- got it.
Thanx

Jennifer Wagner said...

I'm partial to that line myself...thanks so much Karen.

Jennifer Wagner said...

Thank you Panchali :)

Jennifer Wagner said...

I love the scene in the natural too...a forest in winter holds a certain lovely ambiance. But flip to a person, not so enchanting. Thanks Brian, you are always so on point.

Jennifer Wagner said...

Thanks rch.

Jennifer Wagner said...

Thank you very much for your kind words!

Jennifer Wagner said...

Oh I like that Hank...

Jennifer Wagner said...

Thank you Mad!

Jennifer Wagner said...

Karen, thank you!

Jennifer Wagner said...

Thank you very much Simon :)

Jennifer Wagner said...

Thanks for coming by my blog Emma, I appreciate it!

Jennifer Wagner said...

Thanks Grace. I'm a big fan of your poetry, thanks again for commenting on the piece.

Jennifer Wagner said...

Welcome. Thanks for coming by.

ayala said...

Lovely imagery :)

Jennifer Wagner said...

Thank you :)

Optimistic Existentialist said...

The imagery in this poem is so incredibly vivid...it left me speechless.

RMP said...

there is something about the frozen berries bedazzling the ground...lovely.

Jennifer Wagner said...

What a great compliment Keith, thank you.

Jennifer Wagner said...

There is something about them I agree. Thanks RMP.

Lea said...

How beautiful to find this poem today... each word paints a silent, but not so silent, winter wood... my favorite are the last two lines, thank you for this these bedazzling gems of words!

Jennifer Wagner said...

I'm so glad you enjoyed it Lea--I so enjoyed your comment.

Deepak Kripal said...

i love this one the most (of all i hv read till now)..

its amazing how you read some lines or words and feel better..

glacial heart... mesmerizing..

i m hungry for more Poet.. :)

Jennifer Wagner said...

What a wonderful compliment, thank you :)

TALON said...

I swear I saw frost on my screen after reading this one, Poet Laundry. Loved it!