Fallow | Teen Ink

Fallow

January 15, 2012
By EPluribusUnum DIAMOND, Woodbine, Maryland
EPluribusUnum DIAMOND, Woodbine, Maryland
59 articles 24 photos 280 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head)."
-Sylvia Plath


How it climbs,
The tree, above the fallow field
Where once a farmer plowed
Abundant lands.
How high
The long dead branches
Stretch to meet the sky.
It's singed trunk
Scarred white on the side
Where once a farmhouse stood.
Now a pile of ash
And timbers lay,
Scattered at the foot
Of a crumpled barn,
Half ash itself.
A bird,
A tiny swallow,
Alights on the topmost branch of the tree
Singing of what once was,
But only the wind is left to here.
The rest is gone,
Taken late one winter's night
In an accident,
A sudden burst of flame.


The author's comments:
This is a metaphor about the shortness of life and how unexpected it can be. Live your life to the fullest because you never know what's coming next.

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This article has 6 comments.


on Jan. 29 2012 at 4:24 pm
EPluribusUnum DIAMOND, Woodbine, Maryland
59 articles 24 photos 280 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head)."
-Sylvia Plath

Thank you :)

on Jan. 29 2012 at 4:20 pm
gossimergrrl BRONZE, Grosse Ile, Michigan
3 articles 1 photo 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
"Hamlet: Oh God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams." -William Shakespeare

Beautiful and sad.

on Jan. 26 2012 at 2:14 pm
EPluribusUnum DIAMOND, Woodbine, Maryland
59 articles 24 photos 280 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head)."
-Sylvia Plath

Thanks! :) :)

on Jan. 26 2012 at 1:46 pm
babyrex4 SILVER, Buffalo, New York
5 articles 6 photos 191 comments

Favorite Quote:
\"You may only be someone in the world, but to someone else, you may be the world.\"

Author Unknown

I love the imagery in this poem. I could just close my eyes and feel the beauty of the poem. Please keep writing!

on Jan. 26 2012 at 9:21 am
EPluribusUnum DIAMOND, Woodbine, Maryland
59 articles 24 photos 280 comments

Favorite Quote:
"I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;
I lift my lids and all is born again.
(I think I made you up inside my head)."
-Sylvia Plath

Thank you!

on Jan. 21 2012 at 8:13 pm
Kimberlywrites BRONZE, Waikoloa, Hawaii
2 articles 3 photos 18 comments

Favorite Quote:
For we have not been given a spirit of fear but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

II Timothy 1:7

The way you told the story of this house is so touching. Every word holds so much meaning. I especially love the descriptive adjectives which allow me to envision the scence perfectly.