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Poet Tree
Legacy: The Saga Begins is a 14-chapter
narrative poem. In this excerpt, the adolescent hero
Abelbee, who has to venture deep into the Great
Wood to find wise Vallenbee, arrives at Vallenbee’s
Place. Abel finds an unbound scroll on a desk. It’s
a poem that Vallenbee wrote to remember his
own father, Victorbee.
I come again to Poet Tree to write,
to pass my father’s wisdom—share his light.
His voice now speaks, yet only through my pen
and with each crafted stroke, he lives again.
Is there a worse, more powerless frustration
than longing for another conversation
with those remaining speechless now forever?
I write so that his words we may remember:
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“Why Boast?”
a double sonnet writ by Victorbee:
My son, I’ve noticed that you’re prone to boast,
as if our honey-craft was something learned.
And here again, your cup is raised to toast
yourself with praises that you haven’t earned.
So listen well and let’s look all around:
How can the beavers build without a tool?
Who writes the birds their song and gives them sound
and loads the spider’s loom and spindle spool?
Who lullabies the bear to wintry sleep
and then awakens him upon the hour?
Who schools the squirrels on what to leave or keep
and flavors flowers to be sweet or sour?
So do not boast about a given skill,
as if a porcupine who flaunts his quill.
Why boast as if the syrup comes from you?
Do you produce the honey on your own?
Please show to me the nectar that you grew.
See, nothing on this earth does it alone.
Without the soil, seeds cannot take root.
Without the sun and rain, no sprouting seed.
Without the sprout, no flower’s nectar loot.
Without the nectar, there’s no honeybee.
Were you the one who heated up the sun
to lead the orchestra of bud’s rebirth?
Was it your voice that riled rivers to run
and fixed the mix to fertilize the earth?
Was it the soil’s choice to house the seed?
Or does the water fuel the land by chance?
And does the sun bring heat for its own need?
A wise Designer’s seen at every glance.
My son, please see the foolishness it is
to boast and claim the praise that’s rightly His.
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Michael Pietrack is a writer, businessman, and former baseball player who resides in Colorado.
There are some great lessons in this exceptionally well written poetry with beautifully told imagery taken from nature and pointing out that it is the work of the Great Designer.
I wish to add the use of “Poet Tree” was inspired. The double entendre adds to the luster.
Roy, thank you so much for these kind and validating words. This was my first attempt at a sonnet. Originally it was written in couplets, which is the form that “Legacy: The Saga Begins” is written in, but I wanted to change it up for this poem within a poem. The whole book gives credit to a Designer, so I’m confident you’d love it. I was proud to have the likes of James Sale, Andrew Benson Brown, Susan Jarvis-Bryant, and Evan Mantyk endorse the book. Having their names on the back cover meant so much to me.
FYI: I enjoyed your The Meek, Not Weak, Shall Inherit the Earth.
Michael
Now we see what all the buzz is about as it relates to Legacy. This excerpt will provide a snapshot of the wonderful writing that is consistent throughout the book.
When you look at nature, do you see a wise Designer?
Is everything working together a wonderful random coincidence?
The subtly in this poem is that when new discoveries are made, one may boast, but in the end, those discoveries are more like “uncoveries” of how the wise Designer did it.
Ah nice catch on the subtly. I had the idea when reading the book of Job.
Is the porcupine that boast about his quill a jab at arrogant writers? Is quill a double entendre?
This is really quite delightful –both the idea, and the way you have carried it out!
Hi Cynthia, I am so happy to learn that you liked this short excerpt. I’ve enjoyed your work too. If you like this, I’m confident that you would love Legacy: The Saga Begins.
@DavidBernard
The beautiful thing about poetry is that the reader sees the things they see because of the lens through which they look.
True! Perhaps I do think arrogant writers who boast about their work and tear down others as quite the bristly porcupines.
There is some nice imagery here. I especially liked the following stanza with its imagery and alliteration:
Who lullabies the bear to wintry sleep
and then awakens him upon the hour?
Who schools the squirrels on what to leave or keep
and flavors flowers to be sweet or sour?
The concluding couplets really clinch the message also. Well done!
No one does the power couplet like ABB!
An admirable message, expressed equally admirably. Some really lovely wordplay and rhymes on offer here! Poet Tree!
I’m a big fan of yours Lillios, so your comments carry weight. I had to edit out a part where the dad etched “Don’t Boast” into his son’s skull. I thought it might be too dark. 😉
The dad really missed a great teaching opportunity there! It would have been a nice little reminder every time his son looked in a mirror, a real gift that keeps on giving. Save it for the next volume!
I really enjoyed both of these poems. I loved the beautifully expressed message in “Why Boast?” Thank you Michael.
Thank you Norma, you’ve always been so kind to me. This is actually one poem called “Poet Tree’. The main character is reading a poem called “Why Boast”, so it is a poem within a poem. I think you would really love Legacy: The Saga Begins, from which this excerpt is taken. Please check it out and let me know your thoughts.
Thank you Michael. I will do that. On review, it sounds really interesting.
Beautifully stated, Michael. Your poetry speaks to many of us in ways that other poetry does not. I appreciate your imagery and how you eloquently make the ordinary became extraordinary! Very impressive. Well done, as always!
Well, thank you Holly. I am very pleased to know you liked it. Even though art brings the artist intrinsic happiness, it does add to it to know that other appreciate it as well. Be noble.
I love the homely story-telling of Michael’s fable and the way it crafts its moral messages. Here we have a double sonnet powerfully advising against boasting; an important topic. But bigger still is the overarching theme of Legacy overall, the freedom of the will: a message not just for young people, but for all of us as we see even our ability to pray becoming an illegal act.
Thank you James. God has a way of humbling the haughty and there is nothing more haughty than claiming He doesn’t exist, taking credit for things that we humans didn’t achieve. Remember what happened with Daniel when prayer was outlawed…
Indeed, remember … thanks.
Michael~ your poem leaves me wonderfully breathless, as if I were on the aquamarine floor of the sea!
Your acknowledgment of God in a world besieged by vanity, is so verily true!
You are an exceptional poet, Michael…I will be revisiting this masterpiece more than once today.
Thank youL Patricia
Thank you Patricia, that means a great deal to me. This is from Legacy: The Saga Begins, which I think you would enjoy. Your comment made my day, so thank you for the encouraging words.
The gently interrogative nature of this double sonnet reminds me of the Book of Job. Michael Pietrack therefore vivifies the ancient teachings for our modern times. Wonderful, evocative, and simply and elegantly expressed.
Thank you. All the pieces of nature fit so perfectly together to sustain life. The boasting sophisticates even claim to have invented God, as if it is a construct of the human mind. Or I hear people giving credit to Mother Nature or The Universe. They will give credit to anything but God.