Analysis of Single Tree, Seeking Friendship
SINGLE TREE, SEEKING FRIENDSHIP
Deep in the woods, the old pine tree caught my eye.
It thrust out one short grey branch, broken off, the length shaped surprisingly like a human arm—elbow, wrist,
and outstretched hand.
It seemed oddly approachable, that tree, waiting there,
maybe even longing for attention. Who knows? I stopped, couldn’t help but clasp that gnarled hand,
in friendship, as if to shake it.
The tree stood in a secret grove, fog sifting softly
through the air, its trunk clothed in mottled bark,
bearing scars of wind and weather. Overhead,
the branches, needled in healthy green,
dripped water down, dampening the dried needle
carpet at its feet. Many days since, in sun
and fog, wind and damp, I have hiked the path
to reach for that scarred old branch.
And when I have sat and leaned my back against
that tree’s thick trunk, I have felt my body sink into
another living body—a woodsy presence offering
such surprising comfort.
Scheme | X XXA XAX XXXX XXXX XXXX |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1011010 10010111111 111111110101101001010111 0011 1110010011101 101010101011111111111 01011111 0110010111010 1011110101 10111010101 010100101 11011000110 10111101101 0110111101 1111111 01111011101 1111111110101 01010100110100 101010 |
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 973 |
Words | 182 |
Sentences | 10 |
Stanzas | 6 |
Stanza Lengths | 1, 3, 3, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 19 |
Letters per line (avg) | 39 |
Words per line (avg) | 9 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 125 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 27 |
About this poem
All true! There's a tree on a trail near Berkeley, California, that seems to reach out with a hand-shaped branch.
Font size:
Written on November 15, 2022
Submitted by karinevans2002 on March 01, 2023
Modified on April 19, 2023
- 54 sec read
- 58 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Single Tree, Seeking Friendship" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/156328/single-tree%2C-seeking-friendship>.
Discuss this Karin Evans poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In