Indian Tree Guide

[Pendragon]

Indian Tree Guide

If we took a nice hike in my woods here, and I asked you to name a tree for me
You might shock your Old Uncle Pen both by identifying the tree,
and then telling me if it were the leaves or the bark, or perhaps fruit, that gave you the answer.
But did you know that the tree has a voice like no other? No?
Listen closely then as I throw my hatchet into the center of its heartwood. Nay, the tree will recover.
Did you take note of the sound it made as the blade struck deep into the heartwood?
Now, that tree beside it is not of the same species. Listen again as the hatchet bites heartwood.
You could tell, could you not? I can see the wonder already in your face. Very different notes.
Up the hill is another tree that is different, neither out of my range, nor out of earshot. So—
Deeper in tone! Each type of tree has a unique voice. Musicians began to learn this years ago,
perhaps from weapon practice, like me throwing my old tomahawk around.
By mixing the woods they came to make instruments that had sound that was always good,
and some made instruments, like Stradivarius, that cannot be recreated.
They learned which woods should go where for the best sound quality,
and some just used the woods themselves for drums, each drum a different wood or length.
So revere the trees around you, they have a voice, and you could tap trees and listen and identify if trained…

Pendragon
© 2/9/08

[Lote-Tree]

Indian Tree Guide

If we took a nice hike in my woods here, and I asked you to name a tree for me
You might shock your Old Uncle Pen both by identifying the tree,
and then telling me if it were the leaves or the bark, or perhaps fruit, that gave you the answer.
But did you know that the tree has a voice like no other? No?
Listen closely then as I throw my hatchet into the center of its heartwood. Nay, the tree will recover.
Did you take note of the sound it made as the blade struck deep into the heartwood?
Now, that tree beside it is not of the same species. Listen again as the hatchet bites heartwood.
You could tell, could you not? I can see the wonder already in your face. Very different notes.
Up the hill is another tree that is different, neither out of my range, nor out of earshot. So—
Deeper in tone! Each type of tree has a unique voice. Musicians began to learn this years ago,
perhaps from weapon practice, like me throwing my old tomahawk around.
By mixing the woods they came to make instruments that had sound that was always good,
and some made instruments, like Stradivarius, that cannot be recreated.
They learned which woods should go where for the best sound quality,
and some just used the woods themselves for drums, each drum a different wood or length.
So revere the trees around you, they have a voice, and you could tap trees and listen and identify if trained…

Pendragon
© 2/9/08

I like this poem - it is about trees and I love trees :D

The Poet Rabindranath Tagore wrote "Trees show Creative Power in it's most peaceful form".

I am bit struggling to understand this poem though...do trees have voice because they can be made into a Stradivarius or violin...or trees have a voice because the leaves whisper?

edit :Here is a snippet of that tagore poem.



In Praise of Trees

O profound,
Silent tree, by restraining valour
With patience, you revealed creative
Power in its peaceful form. Thus we come
To your shade to learn the art of peace,
To hear the word of silence; weighed down
With anxiety, we come to rest
In you tranquil blue-green shade, to take
Into our souls life rich, life ever
Juvenescent, life true to earth, life
Omni-victorious. I am certain
My thoughts have borne me to your essence
-Where the same fire as the sun’s ritual
Fire of creation quietly assumes
In your cool green form....

[symphony]

Heh u cant actually mention Tagore in a thread and not have me comment there!! :D

Joking. The poem's good enough in itself to get good comments. Nice work, Uncle Pen. But while reading, i thought it would look free and more like itself if presented as a total prose. :thumbs_up And thats a wonderful theme to write on.

[AuntShecky]

Unless one could identify a tree by its bark ( i.e. a "dogwood" tree,perhaps) he or she couldn't do it this time of year: no leaves, no fruit.

But I really appreciate one aspect which you brought out in your piece: ancient peoples, not merely Native Americans, believed that a spirit inhabited each tree. One "tapped" on the tree trunk to acknowledge the spirit's presence as well as to make a prayerful petition. Hence the origin of the expression: "Knock on wood."

[AuntShecky]

P.S. The next time one of the LitNetters asks for an example of a "prose poem," we've got a really fine example right here!

[kiz_paws]

I love this prose, not only for the lovely way of telling, but the subject matter. I also dearly love trees, and your information was very enlightening, thank you so much. :thumbs_up

Aunt Shecky, thank you, also, for shedding that insight on the old "knock on wood" saying. Very cool...

[Pendragon]

Quite true, Aunt Shecky, and the spirit of the tree came way down into more modern times than we'd think and white men tapped trees for the sound. Then there were the coopers, the barrel makers who made the storage barrels for the great breweries. There are certain woods that age certain spirits better than others. Sometimes, dishonest coopers would dye wood to look like another kind to cheat for more profit. So after a batch or so of spoiled spirits, the brewer learned to tap all the barrels for sound. The cooper might disquise the color, but the sound would tell its story. Yet another incident of "knock on wood".

Wood has a voice because just hitting different types of woods gives different sounds. This is before you make them into a musical insturment, and anyone who makes them will they you that you use different woods for different parts of the insturment to make it sound better!