The Forest Changed

From the book Syzygy (2020)

The forest changed

But slower

Than the ocean shore

Recognizable for long

Stints of time

You are like the ocean

Your personality makes

So that I do not

         Really know you

The ebb and flow of tides

Shaped you strangely

Reviews

[Ken Simm.]

This hits me right there. And it is extraordinary.

[Brad Dehler]

So happy for you to say Mr Simm!! Thank you

[Arundass TP]

Nicely written nature poem. Good work

[Brad Dehler]

Thank you sir for reading my poem and for the compliment. Good day to you!

[Kate AKS]

Unusual comparison of a changeable ocean and not such a drastically changing forest.

People always are unrecognizable to others, what's going inside at the level of the ocean's deepness.

Beautiful poem.

[Brad Dehler]

Thank you for your insights and for the very generous compliment. Thank you Kate. Have a wonderful day

[willweb]

Paints a portrait with a question mark ending, but then again, do we ever know. Things change, life changes, no two days, no two facial expressions, no two feelings are ever the same. Mistakes come from assuming that the shoreline is exactly the same as you left it. Funny it is to go back and find it looks the same but everything about it is different. Very cool thoughts here. Something I can definitely relate to and wish I had written.

[Brad Dehler]

Wow that is a very big compliment sir, wish you had written. I am humbled. I'm taking a knee. Thank you thank you.

[John the Baptist]

Not sure if this one is observation or critique. The speaker acknowledges the differences between himself and the other, seemingly without complaint. But there is an air of dissatisfaction there, because of an inability to know the other better. Maybe he desires to know too much.

[Brad Dehler]

I appreciate any feedback, and you John the Baptist, often has a truckload of insight. Thank you for spending time on this one. Yes, perhaps it is the consternation derived from the desire to know too much.... I hadnt thought of it that way

[Khloevhr]

Hmmm, i like the imagery of the forest changed. it feels so personal to me like me. ebb and flows of the tide. Changes. personality. yeah me too. i go from introvert nerd to extroverted party starter. life of the party. So very, very, very much relatable.

[Brad Dehler]

Thank you for relating with this poem. Yes, the ebb and flows; we -like the tide....___---___---___---

[Vol]

The dichotomy of how fast time flies and the slow changes it wreaks is enough to make our heads spin. There are forests I have known for decades that do not seem to have changed at all, and seashores that only vaguely resemble what they were before men got ahold of them. And along the way, non of us remain the same...
(Your personality makes IT so...?)
Vol

[Brad Dehler]

Thank you for the first review on this poem! Yes, a psychological challenge, the debate over the stability of personality. The old school thinking is that Personality never changes, hence defining it. Newer school thinking contends the people change in small ways and sometimes large- including personality changes due to cataclysmic changes in perspective (for instance). Cheers

[Vol]

I just reread my comment... the parentheses at the end ar for what might be a missing word in lines 7/8.

[Brad Dehler]

I see. It was chosen purposefully. "What a personality makes" and next line, not continued line with "so"