I’ve been exchanging poems with Liz Steinglass for National Poetry Month. It’s been a fun challenge and a treat to find Liz’s mostly desk-inspired poems in my inbox each day. I started the month looking for a theme and for a few days wrote poems about trees. Then I stumbled on a different theme, but today I’m sharing one of the tree poems. It was inspired by an amazing photo that my daughter found on the internets, taken on Vashon Island in Washington state. (We did not see this tree when we took our kiddos to Vashon, where my husband’s sister lives, almost 20 years ago. But it is high on my list if/when we return.)
Bicycle Tree
On a cool spring night
a boy leaned his red bicycle
against a young fir tree
and wandered away.
The bicycle waited patiently
for the boy’s return.
The tree grew and grew,
enveloping the frame,
embracing and lifting it
higher and higher.
Fifty years later
when the boy returned
along the road that had crumbled
past the house that no longer stood
through the woods that had grown
to the giant tree that shadowed the ground
the rusty bicycle, no longer leaning,
half-swallowed by wood and bark,
still waited.
–Buffy Silverman, all rights reserved
There are a lot of stories floating around the internet about how the bike ended up in the tree. Here’s one that may or may not be true.
Be sure to visit Renee at No Water River for the complete Poetry Friday roundup. Happy Final Friday of National Poetry Month!
I adore this!
That is indeed quite a powerful image – no wonder it inspired something beautiful from you. 🙂
I really enjoyed your poem, Buffy. It tugs at the heart.
This bike tree seems to be a metaphor for…what? Life?
Miranda walked in while I had your post on screen, read your poem, and said: “Oh gosh, that is SO COOL!” Ditto what she said. You carry the bike’s story into your poem beautifully, Buffy. There’s PB potential too, if you might want to take it there.
We live in Seattle, but I’ve never seen that photo before – time to take that ferry ride to Vashon and find that loyal, patient little bike!
Let me know if you find it, Julie!
I’ve seen that photo before and I think it should be married to your poem — it’s perfect! Well done, Buffy!
Thank you, Keri!
Beautiful poem and what a wonderful background story on the bike! Thanks for sharing this!
Glad you enjoyed it, Donna.
What an amazing photo! Your poem is a little sad, and definitely wistful and haunting. Poor bicycle . . .
At least it had the tree to keep it company 🙂
Hi Buffy, I’ve really enjoyed sharing poems this month. This is one of my favorites. I find it so haunting. I love the way it lets us see the passage of time.
It is amazing to think about the tree growing around the bicycle for all those years.
This was fascinating because I always want to know the story behind things, people, events, behavior… I clicked the link and enjoyed all the other stories too, including the sheriff’s. Thanks for sharing, Buffy!
They are cool stories–glad you enjoyed them, Kristin.
It’s rather sad to think of the bicycle still waiting for the boy, all grown up now, away! Lovely story, & I haven’t seen the picture before. Amazing, isn’t it? I saw two trees in a backyard once where they had held a board between them, let them grow & encompass the board, hence a bench. Wonder how many other stories like this? Thanks Buffy!
Oh that would be a cool bench to have in your backyard!
A lovely poem, Buffy. I too have seen this tree on the internet, and different theories as to how it came to be there. I like your version!
Thank you, Sally–glad you liked it.
This is lovely, Buffy. I’ve seen that picture too and wondered about the story.
My brother’s ranch in TX has trees with ancient barbed wire embedded in the trunks. It’s not as inspiring, but somehow similar.
I’ve seen trees that grow around barbed wire, too. It is amazing that trees can just encompass other stuff.