[Nick McRae]

Originally Posted by Glenn Wright

Hi, Nick—

I read this as a meditation on time and our perception of it.
The maple has changed very little over the twenty years during which the N’s children grew up, and represents the cyclic/seasonal view of time in which everything happens again and again in an eternal now. The N presents a linear/progressive view of time in which one is always in motion from past to future and can never grasp the present now. I read the shadows as the memories that the N thinks of as his life. They are meaningless to the maple but of supreme importance to the N.

I like the simple structure and clear, direct language. I wondered about “iridescent” and wasn’t sure what to make of the burning lawn, but otherwise felt well guided through the poem.

Glenn

Thanks Glenn,

I'm not too sure what to make of the burning lawn either, I guess it's another of those liked the feel of it phrases.

I appreciate hearing your interpretation of the poem. Mostly I was hoping to evoke the feeling that I got from John's poem. Which was a looming sense of my boys slipping through my fingers. A few years ago we were new parents, in the baby stage, and they're still young, but more recently we've woken up to where it's all going. And the years are slipping by far too quickly.

Thanks again