Tree

by Fred Wah

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Fred Wah has been involved with a number of literary magazines over the years, such as Open Letter and West Coast Line. Recent books are the biofiction Diamond Grill (1996), Faking It: Poetics and Hybridity (2000), a collection of essays, and Sentenced to Light (2008), a collection of poetic image/text projects. He splits his time between the Kootenays in southeastern B.C. and Vancouver.

Reviews

[M.W.P.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm no tree except the part of me
as roots now new spring up among
the willows on the roadside shoots
of older, cherry, maple runners, buds
grow at the sky from clay and gravel
daily now, each day a fraction
of the snow melts up the bank
those green plum eyes seep out.

* * *

I imagine it
a memory tree
birds in my hair
snow on the ground
the history of trees
or rocks of granite
spruce and birds
up here
the wind.

* * *

AMONG


The delight of making inner
an outer world for me
is when I tree myself
and my slight voice screams glee to him
now preparing his craft for the Bifrost
Kerykeion he said, the shore
now a cold March mist moves
down through the cow pasture
out of the trees
among, among

* * *

Where the wind whines
I wind with my eyes
through the cedar crowns

feather boughs flutter
in my mind I imagine
the quiet middle air

I remember the forest now
dry leaves on the path
or was there no path

so much goes on now
except I touch the silence
floating through it still

* * *

The cones are down
bunched
near the bottom of the fruit
sharp-scaled and bird-beaked
three-needle clusters
thin out
to the tip
transparency lying
under finger skin
conifer
iferous
condition

* * *

A pasture full of apple trees
besides a picture of the World-Tree
full of apples. Underspring
down to the roots, sweet April
waters flowing from the cow-
dung hill into my soul a liquid
that, and full of apples
as it goes.

[a.m. kozak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short, unpolished, I like the poetry a little and think it's pretty cool from a publishing / archival and being unique perspective.

[great hit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book, shame the font is so yuck

[Anakana Schofield · Rating 5 out of 5]

I recently read this poetry book twice after hearing Fred Wah read some poems from it at a reading benefit for New Star we both participated in at the Western Front.

I thoroughly enjoyed the vernacular poems especially and the others. I was confronted with thoughts about the resonance of this collection at the current time.

The line drawings in it, well one in particular, of the outline of a man reminded me of a book that shall remain nameless but a classic 1970's jiggy title.

The book is a treat. It made me want to read more of the "Woodsy" poets and more work written about logging, forestry and the BC Interior.