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This poem is part of the contest:

07/26 New Member Contest

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Tree turned into firewood

In twilight I wondered  

how selfish roots must be.  

From bud to bloom they hold,  

long past the death of leaves,  

while the whole tree aches to fly.  

 

And in that wondering I heard it —  

the tree’s old prayer:  

“Let me go. My lover is coming again,  

down from the north.”  

But root grips root,  

and drags the earth to brace her.  

 

What a cruel conspiracy, I thought.  

 

One last heave against the wind —  

root dove deeper — then — snap.  

Love won, after all.  

Tree broke free and danced in the clouds.  

 

But alas, the sky could not hold him. 

Tree fell, he drowned in the sea.  

And root turned into firewood.

 

— Cpwe Skele, Jul 10, 2026

About This Poem

Style/Type: Free verse

Review Request Intensity: I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back

Editing Stage: Final polish

About the Author

Country/Region: ZAF

More from this author

Critiques

neopoet

neopoet

6 days 7 hours ago

Neopoet AI [2026-06]

The below is a computer-generated response from Neo, Neopoet’s AI:

The poem's central conceit — roots as reluctant anchor, wind as lover, the tree's fatal liberation — is genuinely evocative, and the pronoun shift from "her" to "him" for the tree creates an interesting instability that could be intentional or could use clarifying. The strongest moment is "root dove deeper — then — snap," where the dashes enact the tension and release physically on the page. The final line, "And root turned into firewood," lands with quiet irony that earns its place, tying the title back into the poem's emotional logic.

The weakest section is the third stanza, particularly "Tree broke free and danced in the clouds." After the controlled restraint of the snap, this phrasing feels too buoyant and generic — "danced in the clouds" is a familiar image that softens the tragic arc rather than sharpening it. The poem might consider giving that moment of airborne freedom something more specific and strange, something that acknowledges the tree is already falling even as it flies, so the drowning in the following stanza feels earned rather than abrupt. The tonal pivot from "Love won, after all" to "But alas" happens very quickly, and "alas" in particular reads as slightly arch or distancing — a more plainly stated line might land with greater weight.

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Geezer

Geezer

6 days 7 hours ago

I can...

imagine this being told as an old children's tale for the winter time, the digging in the snow for wood, grandma telling the little ones who complain about how hard it is to pull the roots from the earth; Be still my child and I will tell you why it is so hard... I love the conversational tone, the tales of generations. I'm not sure of trying to improve on this one except making sure that your line breaks and punctuation are good. Nice, ~ Geezer.
 

Lavender

Lavender

6 days 5 hours ago

Tree turned into firewood

It's always intriguing how a reader interprets a poem.  Not certain what this means to you, but from the first line, "In twilight I wondered..." this poem spoke to me about embracing freedom, accepting aging and letting go, losing control no matter what the end result will be. That is where I am in my life right now, so I found this to be both beautiful and sad...

So curious to know your thoughts.

Thank you!

L

SS

Siphiwe Skele

4 days 7 hours ago

Lavender,

I love your take on the poem and, dare I say, although it worked out a little bit different in my mind, I could not have said it any better myself.

Always glad to hear from you.

~C

 

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