I have chosen poem by Amy Lowell and it is called The Camellia Tree of Matsue. After reading many poems on different web sites this one finally caught my intention for the reason I can not explain yet, but I’ll give my best shot to try to figure it out. Amy Lowell was born in Brookline , Massachusetts Lowell
In this poem I encountered a lot of symbolism, in this order: Matsue, Camellia Tree, blossoms, white, honey wax, pink, fair coral, gateway, wander, garden, trailing its roots, rustling silk, the scrape, gravel, the tree, flowers, erect, peering, shoji, master, gardener, axe, spouted, stump, the hold, quivered.
Matsue is a city in the Japan Asia , and the flowers are used for tea. Blossoms are the flower of a plant, especially of one producing an edible fruit. White is a color without hue at one extreme end of the scale of grays, opposite to black. Honey wax is a solid, yellowish, nonglycerine substance allied to fats and oils, secreted by bees, plastic when warm and melting at about 145°F, variously employed in making candles, models, casts, ointments, etc., and used by bees in constructing their honeycomb. Pink is a color varying from light crimson to pale reddish purple. Coral is the hard, variously colored, calcareous skeleton secreted by certain marine polyps. Gateway is an entrance or passage that may be closed by a gate. Wander is a verb and it means to ramble without a definite purpose or objective; roam, rove, or stray. Garden is a plot of ground, usually near a house, where flowers, shrubs, vegetables, fruits, or herbs are cultivated. Root is a part of the body of a plant that develops, typically, from the radicle and grows downward into the soil, anchoring the plant and absorbing nutriment and moisture. Rustling is a verb; it means to make a succession of slight, soft sounds, as of parts rubbing gently one on another, as leaves, silks, or papers. Silk is the soft, lustrous fiber obtained as a filament from the cocoon of the silkworm. The scrape is an act or instance of scraping. Gravel is small stones and pebbles, or a mixture of these with sand. Tree is a plant having a permanently woody main stem or trunk, ordinarily growing to a considerable height, and usually developing branches at some distance from the ground. Flower is a plant, considered with reference to its blossom or cultivated for its floral beauty. Erect means to be upright in position or posture. Peer means to peep out or appear slightly. Shoji is a light screen consisting of a framework of wood covered with paper or other translucent material, used originally in Japanese homes as one of a series of sliding panels between the interior and exterior or between two interior spaces. Master is the male head of a household. Gardener is a person who is employed to cultivate or care for a garden. Axe is an instrument with a bladed head on a handle or helve, used for hewing, cleaving, chopping etc. Spout is a verb, it means to emit or discharge forcibly in a stream or jet. Stump is the lower end of a tree or plant left after the main part falls or is cut off. Hold means something to hold a thing by, as a handle; something to grasp. Quiver is a verb, it means to shake with a slight but rapid motion; vibrate tremulously; tremble.
This poem is full of Japanese symbolism, and the camellia tree is the main subject, which is not surprising considering that the poet is horticulturalist and has a great knowledge of trees. For her this tree must represent something or someone of a great significance and beauty, which is obvious from her description of it, including beautiful colors. White represents something good and maybe innocent considering its connection with the blossom, and pink represents probably perfection. It seems to me what had happened next is that during the night someone was getting visits from someone in the house who is really not part of the house because it says that” The Camellia Tree would leave its place by the gateway “. And the part with” Trailing its roots behind it like a train of rustling silk”, sounds like someone’s long hair or maybe a night gown. Seems to me that these night visits were happening until someone’s father maybe decided to put the stop on it. Also, in the process someone’s heart was broken.
Thanks for the poem and definitions of the terms!
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