At dVerse Mish is hosting Posery with an invitation to using a line form TS Eliot’s poem ‘The Waste Land.’
dVerse Poets – Prosery – The Waste Land
The line offered and which must be included is: “What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow out of this stony rubbish?”
“According to ancient mythology, trees link the earth to the sky. In this respect trees link humans to another world.” Richard Allen
Fierce Beauty
The eastern goldfields suffer only the strong or determined living in the extremities across these vast open plains of mostly dry laterite and also quartz, granite and sandstone outcrops populated by shy fauna and rugged flora. The summer is merciless, the winter winds penetrate layers. The rainfall is pitiful, the reason the state government commissioned the grand and ambitious Goldfields Water Supply Scheme in 1896.
When the rains do come they seem to evaporate before they touch the surface soil, and it is a wonder that anything could grow in such a place. Which raises the question, what are the roots that clutch, what branches grow out of this stony rubbish? Dozens in fact, varieties of eucalyptus, acacia, eremophila, grevillea, and callistemon tenaciously hang on out here where humans wilt. When the sun is fierce, the soil unforgiving, the trees are beautifully fiercer.
Copyright 2021 ©Paul Vincent Cannon
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Thank you Cheryl 🙂
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A great story Paul. Nature, it seems, always outmaneuvers us humans.
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And how! many thanks Dwight
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You are welcome!
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Nature is puzzling.
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It sure is, so agree Jim.
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Great job using that quote ~~~ bravo!
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Thank you so much for your encouraging words Helen.
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A refreshing response to the prompt. I’m always fascinated by the strength of plants and trees. Love where you took this and that you brought answers to the Eliot’s line in this piece.
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Nature does that I find, thank you so much Mish 🙂
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Excellent response to the prompt! I’m gaining such an appreciation for the beauty of your homeland through your poetry.
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If that were the only result I’d be thrilled, thank you for sharing the affect for you Liz, so thrilled that it did that.
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You’re most welcome, Paul.
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Nice. And it is the second time I see eremophilia mentioned in a blog. My wife, a chemist, analyzed a plant of that family.
All well Paul?
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Thank you Brian, not so good at present – stress and strain in the role!
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Sorry to hear that. Strain? The role? (Are you still a practicing reverend?) (I imagine it can take its toll) Any light in view at the end of the tunnel?
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Still working, but yes, stress and strain of the years. Some light appearing now, thank you Brian.
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Hang on in there. Have a nice week paul
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Many thanks Brian.
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I have always been fascinated by extremophiles, both plants and animals living in areas that most beings would find intolerable.
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Me too, and thank you
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Nature is amazing!
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O and how, just stunning, amazing … thank you so much Chris.
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Beautifully written, Paul. The prompt lines slid in effortlessly.
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Thank you Merril, really appreciate that.
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You’re welcome, Paul.
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Pingback: Fierce Beauty – prose by Paul Vincent Cannon – nature journeys
Thank you 🙂
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A remembering of this amazing landscape
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Yes, so moving
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