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Taken on the small Channel Island of Alderney, the tree grows just inside what was the main gateway into the Nazi Concentration Camp known as Borkum, one of 4 built on this tiny island during the Nazi occupation 1940-45. Alderney was the only part of UK sovereign territory that had such camps, and several hundred prisoners died here. The tree seems to be a poignant symbol - from death there is life.
In remembrance of all those who lost their lives here.
THE TREE-MAN
Y Gwialwr
I made a tryst, by my troth
With she who never tells truth,
In sylvan house, strewn with vines,
I await her there in vain.
A house I built, for my witch,
Of leaves, then set fruitless watch,
Overgrown my oak-tree grove,
Lapped by lakes, a living grave.
In summertime, I like to trust
Her wilful ways to keep the tryst:
Upon each branch, buds will break,
Midsummer on the brink
Of dawning. I am blessed:
Twenty summers I can boast
Without once, as I live,
Having lied regarding love:
How? I’m silent. But how sharp
Her lies – alas, she won’t shut up!
I spoke, yet she paid no heed,
Acting like she had not heard.
I first made tryst with Madam
When the dust was made Adam;
I have waited five long lives,
Face wrapped with the hedgerow leaves,
Parched by sun, drenched by rain,
No man living knows such pain:
There are trees, great-girthed, that grow
Perforce above me. Frost, snow
Have barked my skin, rough and raw
As rind of lowland’s withered haw –
‘A tree-man’, so they say, ‘No jest,
Or some poor saint put to test.
Gwernabwy’s eagle; stone clutcher,
Is not so old; no creature
Waits as long. No Stag giving counsel
Nor Cilgwri’s ancient Ousel.
Llyn Llyw’s Salmon was small fry;
Cwm Cawlwyd’s owl too young to fly.’
Know, girl, love grows from my girth
Like Aaron’s rod thrust in the earth,
And when I lie down, I shall root
In my own grave. A quickened shoot
Cannot be buried in the mould,
Though I’m gnarled and grim and old.
Whet a knife and cut them stark:
Her initials in my bark.
Engrave her picture where I lie,
Since I love, and cannot die.
- Attributed to Dafydd ap Gwilym; paraphrased by Giles Watson. Dafydd’s authorship has been questioned, but the rich allusiveness of this poem certainly bears his trademarks: especially the manner in which references to the Old Testament are blended with folkloric motifs of more obviously pagan origin. The references to the creation of Adam and to Aaron’s rod (Numbers 17), are balanced by a string of comparative hyperboles emphasising the length of the poet’s waiting for his love. In Culhwch and Olwen, a tale from the Mabinogion, King Arthur’s knights seek the whereabouts of Mabon son of Modron. Gwrhyr, the Interpreter of Tongues, speaks in turn to each of the Oldest Animals, enquiring as to Mabon’s whereabouts. The Ousel of Cilgwri tells him that once there was a smith’s anvil in the field, and the Ousel has been smashing snails and whetting his bill on it ever since, so that it is now worn to the size of a nut, but he has never heard of Mabon. The Stag of Redynvre says that an oak sapling has grown old, died, and worn into a stump in his lifetime, but he has never heard of Mabon. The Owl of Cwm Cawlwyd says that he has lived to see three forests grow on the glen that is his home, and has seen all three uprooted, but he has never heard of Mabon. The Eagle of Gwern Abwy once perched on a rock which his talons have now worn to a pebble, but he has never heard of Mabon. Finally, the Eagle leads Gwrhyr to the Salmon of Llyn Llyw, apparently the oldest creature on earth, and only he knows where Mabon is imprisoned. I have attempted to iron out an apparent inconsistency: early on, the poet claims to have lived only for twenty summers, but he later implies that his tryst with his beloved took place in antiquity. No doubt the latter is a deliberate exaggeration, but I have chosen to suggest instead that the poet (long since transformed into a tree) has been silent for twenty years because his trunk has fallen and is now growing recumbent. I have never seen any analysis of this poem in discussions of the “Green Man”, but whilst the poet’s tone is clearly tongue-in-cheek, it is difficult to dismiss the idea that foliate carvings or illuminations may have played a part in his inspiration.
The painting is a study of a favourite willow pollard on the River Ock. Wax crayon and gouache. A photo of the willow can be seen at:
www.flickr.com/photos/29320962@N07/3222385945/in/set-7215...
Background
I've been searching for a decent lone tree close to home for a while now. As the weather wasn't great this morning, I headed out to scout new location ideas and stumbled across this single tree by chance.
Location
It's located in a field just off the A417 between Lechlade and Cirencester, near Ampney St Peter.
Now I know where it is, I plan to head back there when the conditions are better.
Thüringer Wald (Thuringian Forest)
Spruce trees monocultures are very common in the Thuringian Forest. I hope, it gets slowly transformed in a more natural type of forest with a higher biological diversity. At least there are already some small deciduous trees at the ground.
This is a collage of tree in the front of my school, the project was for photography, of course. We had to take many pictures in different spots or angles and put them all together to form a bigger picture.
Derek and I assembled the aluminum Christmas tree today. We don't have a color wheel to go with it, so we tried to get a similar affect with a string of red LEDs.
The original church was founded in 1573, not sure of the age of the tree, it was certainly there before the church was rebuilt in the 19th Century.
Castlechurch Stafford UK 13th March 2017
Joshua Tree at dusk. A great night out shooting with Victory, playing with strobes, and getting some help from the car headlights. The result reminds me of the dioramas you see in museums, hence the title.
This tree is in downtown Hodgenville, Kentucky.
ODC
"It's beginning to look a lot like...Christmas."
12/9/2017
ANSH
Scavenger #1
Christmas Lights Outdoors
After far too much freezing weather and bitterly cold winds the Vernal Equinox arrives and brings forth the female flower on Larch in Great Wood. A very welcome sign of better days ahead.
this was a photo I took in our garden, it was a very foggy morning. I've dabbled a bit with it, and came up with this!!
¥782. the prayer tree. the prayer tree. cd. hymen records
the prayer tree present an album of quiet, introspection but also an album of strong and inventive songs. a brilliant variety of subtle, colourful arrangements while acoustic and electronic instruments interact perfectly with a mellow voice.
bandcamp:
hymen-records.bandcamp.com/album/the-prayer-tree
discogs:
www.discogs.com/The-Prayer-Tree-The-Prayer-Tree/master/75...