Sequoia lovers: a villanelle
As lovers to each other these two
trees are drawn
And reach upward to infinity’s
meeting place,
While woven roots entwined, resist
the storm.
As lovers whose hearts, one to one,
are drawn
Through all eternity, their limbs embrace
And succour and support flow, one to
one;
Entwined, their woven roots resist
the storm.
Rock disallows a tap root down to
brace,
Yet fingers, weaving outwards, shall
not be torn.
As lovers to each other, day, night
and dawn
Inseparable, these two their spirits
do co-enlace
And in each other’s strength, each is
relied upon,
With woven roots that cannot be
undone,
And as ages pass their twoness they
misplace
As into each other eternally they are
grown.
So may it be, with lovers, cross all
space
That they should strengthen each with
endless grace,
Lean into each other, as lovers, tightly
drawn,
Enmesh their base, and so resist the
storm.
©Tina
Shettigara 2014
Giant Sequoia have a shallow matted root system and no tap root. For such a massive tree it looks odd to find them so commonly growing very close together, however this is advantageous to them as by entwining their roots they give each other stability. I love big trees and always feel quite moved by them. They are ancient giants, and this "twinning" seemed to me to be totally romantic.
This poem arose to honour the wedding of my eldest daughter. It is therefore dedicated to Chaitanya and Dan.
