I am extremely honored and flattered you would say that. Thank you so much for reading and enjoying and I hope that you now see the Sabal palm as something completely different than maybe what you originally saw it. I know I did.
Thanks for a thoughtful and interesting exploration of a part of the Florida landscape that sort of seemed artificial to me growing up. I just double checked and the sabal palmetto's natural range doesn't include the part of the panhandle where I grew up. It is there now, I think both for some cultivation of its heart and also because it is associated with the state and planted to make it seem, I guess, like Florida for tourists. But I always found that the sabal palmetto seemed a bit out of place, planted as it was for decoration. I'll have to make a trip to see our state "tree" in its natural environment!
You are totally right it is not native to the northwest coast of Florida. But it’s definitely native to a majority of the state. I think I did stumble across an article about some politician, not wanting to sabal Palm in the area of the panhandle because it was not native. And I don’t blame them. Native plants should definitely rain superior.
What a good description of the tree life around and it's good to learn about the various palms and their backgrounds. In the essay you used the word dispirit and I wondered if you would prefer disrupt, although I do understand the use of dispirit there.
Thanks Weston. The term is used to describe a lack of enthusiasm for pursuing what it may currently mean to be human on earth. When short term “bad” events occur, it’s very easy to allow some of those events such as wars to dampen our happiness. I suppose a wordsmith could use the word disrupt. But I fully intended to use the word dispirit. Thanks for your clever, an interesting reply.
Lara, thanks for explaining it out for me. For me it's a new use for an old word. Btw, I have always avoided "clever" things, especially in poetry. It seems to get in the way of a poem being what it wants to be.
That may be an effect that they have but, in a serious poem, I am trying to serve something larger, some kind of truth that I hope to get at. Cleverness never seems to serve truth seeking it always struck me as showing off. In these later years I am trying my best to get myself out of the picture and let the poem run the show. Always tricky.
I see what you’re saying. I suppose one could call Shakespeare clever, with the way he strung words together. There was always such a fascinating emphasis on word placement, word, choice, and then making the overall structure work for the poem. And maybe clever isn’t the word to use but more so meticulous. One such a writer, who was rarely clever, but always truthful was Hemingway. His writing was always somewhat bland, straight to the point, the exact description of what he saw his head. But somehow turned out beautifully written.
I was a Shakespeare student for years, read almost every play and sonnet. He was a genius and like Mozart, they couldn't help themselves, stuff just poured out of them. With WS, he had plenty of characters who were smarty pants clever and he put those "clever" words in there for them.
On Hemingway, I also read everything he wrote by the time I was 25. When I write prose I stick to the leanest form possible. That's why like poetry, it's the leanest form possible except for the comic stuff which is wacky, wordy and outlandish. Stroll on.
Thank you. This was a fun one to write. It started off kind of dry and bland, and then I was able to turn it into something, which I think, is a good reflection and story about our beautiful primitive sabal palm. 💚💚
Beautifully written and insightful essay. Reminded me so much of the best of Annie Dillard with its humanistic approach to nature.
I am extremely honored and flattered you would say that. Thank you so much for reading and enjoying and I hope that you now see the Sabal palm as something completely different than maybe what you originally saw it. I know I did.
Thanks for a thoughtful and interesting exploration of a part of the Florida landscape that sort of seemed artificial to me growing up. I just double checked and the sabal palmetto's natural range doesn't include the part of the panhandle where I grew up. It is there now, I think both for some cultivation of its heart and also because it is associated with the state and planted to make it seem, I guess, like Florida for tourists. But I always found that the sabal palmetto seemed a bit out of place, planted as it was for decoration. I'll have to make a trip to see our state "tree" in its natural environment!
You are totally right it is not native to the northwest coast of Florida. But it’s definitely native to a majority of the state. I think I did stumble across an article about some politician, not wanting to sabal Palm in the area of the panhandle because it was not native. And I don’t blame them. Native plants should definitely rain superior.
What a good description of the tree life around and it's good to learn about the various palms and their backgrounds. In the essay you used the word dispirit and I wondered if you would prefer disrupt, although I do understand the use of dispirit there.
Thanks Weston. The term is used to describe a lack of enthusiasm for pursuing what it may currently mean to be human on earth. When short term “bad” events occur, it’s very easy to allow some of those events such as wars to dampen our happiness. I suppose a wordsmith could use the word disrupt. But I fully intended to use the word dispirit. Thanks for your clever, an interesting reply.
Lara, thanks for explaining it out for me. For me it's a new use for an old word. Btw, I have always avoided "clever" things, especially in poetry. It seems to get in the way of a poem being what it wants to be.
Oh your words are definitely clever 🥳
That may be an effect that they have but, in a serious poem, I am trying to serve something larger, some kind of truth that I hope to get at. Cleverness never seems to serve truth seeking it always struck me as showing off. In these later years I am trying my best to get myself out of the picture and let the poem run the show. Always tricky.
I see what you’re saying. I suppose one could call Shakespeare clever, with the way he strung words together. There was always such a fascinating emphasis on word placement, word, choice, and then making the overall structure work for the poem. And maybe clever isn’t the word to use but more so meticulous. One such a writer, who was rarely clever, but always truthful was Hemingway. His writing was always somewhat bland, straight to the point, the exact description of what he saw his head. But somehow turned out beautifully written.
I was a Shakespeare student for years, read almost every play and sonnet. He was a genius and like Mozart, they couldn't help themselves, stuff just poured out of them. With WS, he had plenty of characters who were smarty pants clever and he put those "clever" words in there for them.
On Hemingway, I also read everything he wrote by the time I was 25. When I write prose I stick to the leanest form possible. That's why like poetry, it's the leanest form possible except for the comic stuff which is wacky, wordy and outlandish. Stroll on.
**writing** I’m talk texting right now while on a stroller ride with my son.
And, of course, the sabal Palm is not a tree. Hopefully that was pretty clear in the story.
It’s magical and fascinating as all your writing is. Keep up the good work 💚
Too too kind! Thank you 🙏 have a beautiful weekend 💚🌴
You’re welcome ☺️ have an excellent weekend too x
Wonderful as always 💚💚💚
Thank you. This was a fun one to write. It started off kind of dry and bland, and then I was able to turn it into something, which I think, is a good reflection and story about our beautiful primitive sabal palm. 💚💚
Very interesting... there's always so much complexity out there... right under (or way above, in this case) our noses. Thank you!