Two kinds of crying : 15th February 2024

Gold cherry
Pick of the Month

By Di_Hard

Fri, 16 Feb 2024
  • 3754 reads
30 comments
 

 

Leaving the road for the slick, clay-swallowed gravel of the footpath, newly scalped of its sodden, rot smelling dark brown felt of last year's fallen leaves, is to let go of firm footing and unnatural striving for expectation. Immediately,  the air feels cleaner. Wild garlic shoots prickle the path's banks with fresh green. In immersion of birdsong I attempt the short steep slope up onto the grassy path; sleek surface eroded by previous ascents, mine and others, a few delicate-seeming, yet strong-clinging roots from an ivy-twined, moss-mottled young birch tree are the only stay to sliding back down. I try not to need to grab onto an ash sapling, but just to curl my fingers round its supple, olive green stem is enough to bring back balance and I make it past the risk of claggy ignominy. 

I like to walk every day, if I can, take photos of the beautiful things I see in the woods - there is a freedom there, from my mistakes, from the mistakes of the world. I thought it would be too dark for photos, today, when the rain stopped, so left my camera behind, but now wish I had brought it.

A billion trillion raindrops cling, shimmering to dark grey tracery of beech twigs, each tipped in a fine fawn point, holding the plans for a furl of zingy  green to emerge in April and set the woods afizz.

As if the faint late afternoon light was squeezed between the soft grey lid of low cloud and cold earth, space is luminous here, concentrated into an essence of clear purity.

The only warm colour is  young beech trees glowing bronze as trumpet fanfares, leaves defiantly holding on long after older trees have been blown bare by winds from far away. But vibrant greens are all around - glittering moss fronds curl softly yet acid bright, and others like miniature forests  hummock and climb, in constant urge of their own thriving to surge over all evidence of storm and decay while some swathe rocks and trunks and tapering branches in a breathing deep-pile hug.

Everything is breathing. Rain refreshed, lichen's blue green hues burst out from encrustations on beech and oak trees. Liverworts fuzz rounded boulders in the laughing streams.

Again and again my gaze is drawn  to gatherings of radiant drips' trembling scintillation, a   symmetry too complex for our minds to hold, slight, delicious coolness making mockery of grand chandeliers' stilted glittering in dead aired rooms where the powerful meet.

Dusk is thickening as I near the footpath's straight line back. Sometimes here, I see a young deer by the flounces of a large rhododendron, and look around, catch a gash of white in the leaf litter, a strange shape. 

It is half a small skeleton, one hoof left intact, perfect as a beech twig's bud. Spring will not unfurl for her. Bones picked clean by ravens, buzzard, foxes... She died in the place that made her, and they go into this new year stronger. This is a bleak time for deer,, roots and tough fern leaves all that's left till the new grass grows.

On the footpath, a spaniel frolicks with their walker

In air lustrous with robin and blackbird song I follow them. Trying to forget what I have seen, an old black and white photo on facebook last night comes to my mind, titled Pulse of Palestine, people going about their business, long ago.

Get home, turn on the radio while making tea, and news is of the raid on Nasser Hospital in Gaza. People shot at on the "safe route out", bulldozers and tanks

 

 

Certificate U
Biography

Comments

Submitted by marandina on

"A billion trillion raindrops cling, shimmering to dark grey tracery of beech twigs, each tipped in a fine fawn point, holding the plans for a furl of zingy  green to emerge in April and set the woods afizz."

I was right there with you in what is an evocative read, full of startling imagery. That's a powerful, sad and dark finale. Your passion for your walks and where you live shines through in the way this is written, Di. So much love.

 

[Small typo: erroded]

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou Paul! That is a really kind comment! You are right, I do love the woods :0)

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

What a wonderful walk! And that because you have eyes to see, and in such description! (I had not heard the word 'claggy' before. Looked it up as I thought you had invented it, like my sinky!). You bring to life the feeling of fresh breezy air and glowing moss.

So sad about the end. Sadly we are in a sinful and complexly sinful world of which we see only a limited amount. But we have to trust that there will be absolute justice one day, and there is hope beyond death offered all. Rhiannon

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou so much for reading and commenting Rhiannon. I wish I could invent words like you do :0) I love your walking poems, so very glad to hear you liked this

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

This is a gorgeous reminder of the beauty of nature in a world that seems so frightening.

Your descriptions were so poetic within the wood and left me with a sense of calm.

Thank you so much for sharing Di.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

You have made me so happy to learn you gained a sense of calm from reading, Jenny! I always find much comfort in your nature writing, really glad you could have a break. Thankyou so much for giving your time to read and comment, I appreciate it very much

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Great poetic writing, stark in contrast to news of the wider world.

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou so much, Rachel! Means a lot to me that you say that!

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

Read this very early this morning and forgot to leave a comment - thank you di for taking me with you on your walk - it adds a beautiful and vivid dimension to a place I already feel I know in pictures. Do you 'write' in your head while you walk? I always used to do that when I was lucky enough to live near woods - they are great thinking places

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou very much for reading and commenting! Yes, as I had not my camera, was trying to put into words what I saw, instead, to remember

 

Submitted by Jane Hyphen on

This makes me want to go out to the woods and look more closely, tune in and feel. Shimmering dew drops and leaves bursting through. 'There is a freedom from mistakes', how true and what if we didn't have access to that? Just illustrates how essential it is to visit thess spaces where everything is breathing and forget, for a while, the appalling scenes of our current conflicts. 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Yes! Feel very lucky to have had easy access to this beautiful woods for so long :0) Thankyou very much for reading and commenting, Jane. You will be having have all the fun of discovering what comes up in your new garden!

 

Submitted by drew_gummerson on

This is an excellent piece of writing Di. I loved the beginning, the middle and the end. 
 

Congratulations it's our Facebook and Twitter Pick of the Day. 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou so much, Drew! That is really kind of you to say :0) Made my day

 

Submitted by drew_gummerson on

I thought it was great! 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

you made my day again!

 

Submitted by Turlough on

A great reminder that what we have contains so much more beauty and tranquilty than the homes of much of the rest of the world. I wish that wasn't true but it is. Your words soften the reader's frame of mind before the contrast and the harsh reality of the final two lines. Shockingly lovely.  

Turlough

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou for reading, and your very thoughtful comment, Turlough. Every day there is another terrible story, heartbroken voices, shattered lives

 

Submitted by celticman on

you are your camera. 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou very much for reading and commenting CM. You are right, if I have my camera I don't try to write

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This is our Story of the Month - Congratulations!

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

THANKYOU SO MUCH!!!

 

Submitted by Kris on

Caught me, a point I try to keep in tune with in awareness, work, play, self focus &, as you eloquently took us on a tour of your nature walk.....

If I may be so bold and comment on the end....

Gaza... as bad & sad, tragic & dark & suffering + politically charged as it is,  bad news makes the best news. There is a light there, a lot of very smart hard working people making a come back series of small success stories that will grow larger to be scene in the near future... In the sense, as you observed, " Everything is breathing"... its on life support there, but breathing,.... The stupid people that started this & escalated it, cant execute over time = time is not their side....

There is an economic driven political gravity shift there for the better.... (thats another issue for later)

Plan B. (for now)....

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-68541981

Respectfully I fully understand you & sympathize with the other opinions herein.....

Just trying to shed a little light from a view that is not seen or heard & certainly hard work that goes under reported & seldom recognized......

I enjoyed reading it*

and your other works... (I learn quite a bit from writing, style and grace)

 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Kris, it is so kind of you to read and give such a thoughtful comment! Thankyou very much :0) I do get overwhelmed and you are right, many people are trying to help those in Gaza

 

Submitted by Tom Brown on

Excess of sorrow laughs, excess of joy weeps.

Love that quote can't get enough of it. Doesn't really fit in but so your Title too! I see the rain is crying but the other kind not mentioned. I've wondered why you have a silver badge but not posting? Well least then lately, I must say you always get a terrific number of comments like Jenny too.

Keep well Di! Tom

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Hi Tom, Thankyou very much for reading. I think the more a person comments on others' work, the more likely they are to be kind enough to comment on theirs? The reason Jenny has so many comments is that she is a brilliant poet and writes such wonderful, thoughtful replies, as well as reading and commenting positively on so many pieces of writing?

 

Submitted by Caldwell on

Being out in the woods has saved me numerous times. I love the woods. Especially the mossy, brackeny, hilly kind with large rhododendrons and wise old trees. Doesn't matter the weather or time of day, it is always inspiring, reviving and calming even if you do come across the remains of a poor creature - nature's memento-mori. Really came down with a hard thud at the end though. Relatable again. Despicable destruction and disregard for life.

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou so much for your lovely comment, very sorry has taken so long to reply. Good to find a fellow Woods lover :0)

 

Submitted by Nolan on

Very original, lovely descriptive language like grey tracery ; fine fawn point, furl of zingy ; woods afizz". These ones among others I don't really know what they mean, claggy ignominy. breathing deep-pile hug".

Sad to say your output of stories is not that prolific.

Nolan &

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Thankyou very much for giving your time to read this and comment so thoughtfully, Nolan. I wish I wrote more