“Shinrin-yoku” published at Chewers & Masticadores

On By Mike U.In Poetry

I’m pleased and honored to announce that my poem “Shinrin-yoku” has been published at Chewers & Masticadores (formerly MasticadoresIndia). Many thanks to Terveen Gill and her staff for their kindness and support in accepting my poem for publication. Terveen’s wonderful encouragement knows no bounds, and I’m delighted to have my poetry included at Chewers & Masticadores. Thanks so much, Terveen!

“Shinrin-yoku”

I have bathed in forest’s em’rald essence
I have nestled, secreted away, in
Jade konara copse
I have placed my palms
Soft upon the scabrous skin of giants
Whose slowly beating hearts have shattered stone
Whose deeply delving fingers grip the earth
In lover’s embrace
Eternity is far too brief a time
For such a love as this, for such a love
Trees have for the earth
I have for the trees…

I’d be grateful if you would check out the rest of my poem by following this link. Also, be sure to follow/subscribe to Chewers & Masticadores–it’s a wonderful place for those who love writing.

85 thoughts on ““Shinrin-yoku” published at Chewers & Masticadores”

    1. Thanks, Cindy, for your wonderful support. The fact that we both have pieces about trees published on the same day is just too cool, eh? Thanks for your kindness as always–much appreciated! 🙂

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      1. It’s truly my honor Mike and yes!!! I totally was honored to be sharing trees together so cool. Let’s just say I was wowed by your words and had that same tape I play sometimes when I see and hear awesome work “ I wanna write like Mike!
        You wowed us! 💕❤️💕

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  3.  August, 2022 at 11:59 am

    Wow Mike, that’s just incredible!  The imagery and descriptions are just so beautiful and evocative and take us on an amazing journey through nature!  Stand out lines for me include:

    “Soft upon the scabrous skin of giants

    Whose slowly beating hearts have shattered stone”

    “The living scent of moss and loam, absorbed

    Through every pore, a heady, arcane brew

    Inebriating

    Lulling, as the moon”

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    1. Thank you so much. My tired mind craves peace and quiet, and I always seem to find those commodities in nature. Whether it was growing up on a farm and playing among the trees, or photographing them years later, or simply wandering about in a forest, there’s peace and quiet in abundance. I appreciate your wonderful thoughts on this poem, as well as your presence here in the WP community. 🙂

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      1. Yes to “tired mind craves peace and quiet” (and thank you –I haven’t yet had a chance to tweak my ‘blog’s format/content. Hopefully that will happen before winter, but I’m certainly enjoying reading others for now!).

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      1. You’re most welcome, Mike! It is always a pleasure of mine and I do miss your photography’s a lot do post them soon as well. 😊
        Yes I am doing good by God’s grace, and how about you? I do hope things are better than before.

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    2. Thanks, Daphny. No worries–I shall post more nature images shortly. I have some ready to go. I’m doing all right, I suppose. We all struggle with certain things. Some people have a knack for overcoming, while others seem to get bogged down more easily. I belong to the latter group. Showing up here and interacting with my blogging friends (like you) helps a great deal. There’s nowhere else to go but forward, right? 🙂

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    1. Many thanks, Joni. Oh, I was indeed happy with Terveen’s choice of accompanying image! The forest in the image she selected seems magical. I never include images with my poetry on my blog, so it’s always interesting to see how others “view” my poetry, you know? An image says a lot about how we interpret things and really personalizes a piece of written work. Thanks again for your kind words, my friend. 🙂

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    1. Thank you kindly, Xenia. I’m so glad this poem resonates with you. I know of your love for nature, which is so apparent in your wonderful blogs. There’s a special kinship I sense with nature, especially when I’m among trees. The peace and quiet feel like home and are so welcoming. I’m happy to know this poem appealed to you. I appreciate your lovely thoughts so much. 🙂

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    1. Thank you…this really touched me. I’m humbled that this one connected with you so deeply. “Reading a painting” is such a vivid way of expressing it. Of course, if you were to read the only painting I’ve ever created, you might change your mind! 😀 (A horrible acrylic painting of what I think was supposed to be a tree and a mountain from 10th grade art class–I can laugh now, but oh, the horror! 😀 ) Anyway, I sincerely appreciate your kindness. I’m so glad you enjoyed this piece and I’m grateful for your wonderful thoughts. 🙂

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    2. “On another note, I hope that acrylic is still around…” Oh my goodness, for the love of all things sacred, I hope it’s not! 😀 Actually, it exists…somewhere…in my storage unit. Under lock and key. Buried irretrievably deep in a big mysterious trunk with a padlock THIS BIG! In fact, every time I think about that painting, I hear scary violin music in the background. Hee, maybe if I ever find it, I can take a photo of it and post it here on my blog! Yeah, that’s the ticket! 😀

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    1. Thanks, David. It may be obvious that I love trees, but I also have a secret crush on the moon! 😀 The image of those moon-dapples on the mossy forest floor at midnight amid dark oak shadows really struck me, and I imagined myself walking among those oaks in the fragrant stillness of the night and watching the dapple-patches playing on the ground. I appreciate your kind appraisal, good sir! Thanks so much. 🙂

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  12. “Quietude enfolds me as, eyes closed, I

    Breathe the conversation of konara

    Listen with my heart

    To all that matters”

    So beautiful poem, Mike 🙂 as always.. loved it.

    My heartfelt Congratulations!! 👍🙂 and best wishes!!

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    1. Thank you so much, Saima. Your kind words always brighten my day. I’m really glad you enjoyed this one. I had so much fun writing it. It was like being transported to a majestic oak forest and let loose to wander around at my leisure and see what I could discover, and this was the result of my imaginary journey. The moon, giant oaks, fragrant flowers, and stars…what more could anyone wish for? Thanks for your wonderful thoughts on this, Saima, I appreciate it. 🙂

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    1. Thank you kindly, Diana. I’m so glad you liked this one. As much as I love Colorado’s forests, I miss Oregon’s forests so much. It’s heartbreaking to see those fires destroying so much up there. I hope your area is safe. 🙂

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    1. Many thanks, Peggy. The forest is so welcoming, isn’t it? And it gives so freely of itself. I love the green silence and the heady aromas found among the trees. Just a really peaceful place. I’m glad this one appealed to you. Much appreciated. 🙂

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  21. When I had begun reading poetry as a child, I used to copy the ones that brought me peace and joy on a piece of paper to keep in my school bag. When I would feel down or a little anxious, I would take the paper out and read those poems. I believe this can be one of those poems! It has such a calming, grounded imagery, that makes you feel at one with nature and offers you solace. Brilliant writing, Mike! Congratulations! 👍

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    1. Thanks, Aaysid. This is such a nice thing to say, and I’m really humbled by your words. I’m glad you had poetry to comfort you as a child. It certainly led you to become a masterful poet yourself. I’m pleased to know you were able to experience the calming vibes in this one. It was such a pleasant experience writing it. I was simply along for the ride, letting the words carry me along on their current. I’m happy you liked this one. Your kindness is so appreciated. 🙂

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  22. Dear Mike,

    I would like to congratulate you not just on your poem “Shinrin-yoku” being published at MasticadoresIndia by Terveen Gill and her staff, but also on your ability to lay bare your affinity with Nature to such a degree of mastery and imaginary depth strewn with anthropomorphic identification and arboreal yearning throughout your poem.

    Thank you for your commendable efforts in being so empathetic and in putting yourself in the spirit of trees and forests via your connections to them and through your contemplation of their journey of life as they gradually reach their majestic statures in the fullness of time.

    Whilst I may not be fully aware of all the overt and subtle aspects of your poem just from one or two readings, I shall nevertheless resonate with your poem entitled “shinrin-yoku – forest bathing” in the spirit of 守りたい (まもりたい) 我要保護 as follows:

    Factories don’t make oxygen. Trees do. Respect nature.

    This photo is also featured in my post entitled “The Quotation Fallacy“.

    Considering that you are also a photographer, I was initially expecting a special photo from you rather than Canva to accompany your poem. I love photos featuring magnificent trees full of character, and I often wonder what species of trees they belong to.

    Indeed, 守りたい (まもりたい) 我要保護

    Yours sincerely,
    SoundEagle

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    1. Many thanks for such a kind and thoughtful comment. By now, anyone who has read my blog knows I’m fascinated with nature, and trees, especially. This piece began as all my writing does: I had a mental image, nothing more. I don’t use a roadmap when I write, but rather let the words take me along with them to wherever they may lead. So, when I found myself in that midnight forest as the moon danced above the canopy, I was delighted at where this poem had taken me. And I felt an urgent need to express my heart’s desire to protect those trees which give life to our planet. During my nature photography days, I tried to capture the wild places of nature to show people the beauty of our world and to send the message that we must protect our environment or risk losing all we have. That’s come through in some of my nature poetry as well, so it’s a deeply seated desire of mine to raise awareness of the plight of our natural world. The image you included in your post is a perfect example of the message I want to shout from the mountaintops. In my poem, the pacing is slow and relaxing until the very end, where urgency arises. We must defend our trees as though our lives depend upon them, because they do.

      As for including images with my poetry, I decided when I began posting my poetry here that I wouldn’t include images with my words. The reason? I didn’t want the reader to have a visual bias before even reading the poem. It’s like the difference between watching a music video and listening to a song on the radio. Without visuals, the listeners create visual images in their minds as the music plays and the result is a unique and deeply personal connection to the song. Music videos force visual images onto the viewers and forever ingrain in their minds those images, which lessens the impact of the song. (Plus, many music videos contain visuals that have absolutely nothing to do with the lyrics.) With this said, I was pleased with the image Terveen Gill selected to accompany my poem when she published it at MasticadoresIndia. It’s a magical image and it fits well with the poem.

      I have a couple of tree photographs I plan on posting in the next few days, trees that are indigenous to my area and hold meaning for me. I can’t say if they’d be considered majestic to others, but there was a connection made when I saw them and that connection led to the photographs.

      As always, thanks for your in-depth comment. And thanks for alerting me that you’d posted a comment that didn’t appear so I could track it down in the Spam folder. Much appreciated, my friend. 🙂

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      2. Dear Mike,

        Speaking of visual imagery and poetic impression with respect to “a perfect example of the message [that you] want to shout from the mountaintops”, you are cordially invited to come and fly alongside SoundEagle in the following special post that can resonate with the (embodied, corporeal and/or transcendental) Imagery and Impression as well as Being and Feeling of soaring like an eagle, whether symbolically, intellectually, aesthetically or spiritually, so that you may imagine yourself gliding above the tree canopies:

        🦅 SoundEagle Guided Imagery ⋆*ࣰ☀̤̣̈̇🏝*ࣰ˜҈”˜҈░*ࣰණි

        In addition, please turn on your finest speakers or headphones, as the said post will be playing music to you automatically for about two minutes. By the way, the image of Birch Forest Landscape with Mushrooms is also featured in this said post.

        Yours sincerely,
        SoundEagle

        Liked by 1 person

      3. Dear Mike,

        I have also submitted the same first comment here to masticadoresindia. In fact, I submitted it to Terveen Gill ‘s blog first, and since it is awaiting approval before it will be visible to you and others, I have submitted it to this blog post as well, which, for some reason, initially treated it as a spam comment.

        Yours sincerely,
        SoundEagle

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Beautiful! And just what I needed! 🙂 I love hardwoods, but my area has so few of them. I lived in Oregon for awhile in the ’90s and there were plenty of hardwoods there that turned the most amazing colors in the autumn. My area of SW Colorado has mainly coniferous trees, aspens, cottonwoods and scrub oak in the mountains, so we don’t see the brilliant reds and salmon tones visible in hardwood forests in other regions (we get primarily the bright yellow of aspens in the fall to contrast with the deep green of the pines, spruces and firs). This image of yours is so incredibly peaceful. Thanks so much for sharing it here. I’m off to check it out again! 🙂

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    3. The multimedia experience was fascinating. I’ve had exercises very similar to this one with my counselor, revisiting “little Mike.” as a form of healing. It’s profound. You’re incredibly gifted when it comes to your artistic endeavors. This one in particular has deep meaning for me, and it’s one I’ll be revisiting many times. A sincere thank you, SoundEagle! 🙂

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      1. Dear Mike,

        I am delighted by your feedback and complimentary reply. Thank you very much. It is heartening to know that my post entitled “🦅 SoundEagle Guided Imagery” has resonated with you deeply. I hope that the music (which is my composition) also complemented your experience there well. I would be very grateful if you would kindly leave your comment(s) in the post as a token of your visit. You are very welcome to copy and paste your previous reply as part of your forthcoming comment to be submitted to the comment section of the post, to which your esteemed reply clearly pertains and also belongs. Please feel free to expand on your comment(s) if you have additional matters to convey about the post and any salient aspects of its contents. Thank you in anticipation.

        Yours sincerely,
        SoundEagle

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Dear Mike,

        In the event that my post entitled “🦅 SoundEagle Guided Imagery” were to inspire you to compose a poem, it might indeed be featured in my said post, or in a modified new post, should you deem this “collaboration” or “cross-pollination” to be desirable or appropriate.

        Yours sincerely,
        SoundEagle

        Liked by 1 person

    4. Thank you for the open invitation for a possible collaboration. I shall keep this in mind for when the words return to me (my muse is apparently on vacation or stranded at the airport or marooned in a broken-down taxi cab somewhere…). 🙂

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    2. I’m going through a hard patch right now, with various problems I can’t fix (physical, financial, major depression, etc.) as well as feeling really stressed about our upcoming midterm elections in November, where our very democracy is at stake if the bad guys regain power. It’s a terribly anxious time, and I’m not very good at handling stress. One of the first things to suffer when anxiety gets bad for me is my creativity. I hit a massive wall of writer’s block. That’s what I’m experiencing at the moment. I just didn’t want to burden anyone herewith my problems because I realize everyone has a lot of stress. I hope to get back to writing. I just have to let this run its course, I suppose. Thank you , dear Jane, for your concern. It means a lot to me. 🙂

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    1. Thanks so much, Friedrich. I appreciate your kind sentiments. I was reading several of your recent posts tonight (your Morocco trip, the paintings reflecting Daoism and Zen) and they were so relaxing. Your paintings and photos and narrative were just what I needed right now in this stressful time. Food for the soul. So, thank you for that, good sir! 🙂

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      1. It’s me who has to thank you and I’m happy that I was able to contribute something to your relaxation. I can hear from your lines that you are in a stressful situation and I am keeping my fingers crossed that you will be able to free yourself from it again soon! I was in a similar situation myself for a long time and I know how stressful it can be. All the best from the heart, good sir!

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