Poem: Pine Trees

I had a hard time picking a poem for this month. I haven’t been doing a lot of creative writing lately and nearly ran out of original poetry. Then I remembered some of my favorite poems from my undergrad writing class.

This one in particular is loosely inspired by some of my childhood memories of Washington, aka the evergreen state. I spent seven years of my life there, a pretty long time for a military brat. Of course, when I say loosely inspired, I mean loose. My dad did deploy to Afghanistan, but the rest of the family and I were living in North Carolina at the time. After a year, my dad came home.

Here’s to the soldiers deployed this Christmas season. Here’s to the spouses and children waiting for their return. Here’s to the families living overseas.

You are not alone.

Pine Trees

In green they mock fall’s bright red-orange décor

to show off leaves where small squirrels abide

with naught but cones for life on forest floor.

My friends and I, we’d build small forts to hide

pretending tales were life with every stride.

Like sweets, the sap did cling to child’s small hands

and time blew through the trees with open fronds.

The evergreens wore their cold cloak of snow

among the dead bushes from which we picked

berries until he left. Would that I knew

safety was guaranteed, but stars were pricked

by tall toothpicks. For pines, the world’s not strict.

For one long year where trees upward did press,

I stood beneath the boughs now fatherless.

Then pines sang songs of lights and frailty—

One snap. One ax for Christmas time all ‘round.

Soft smell, strong hearts for God and our country,

like stumps uprooted from their ground,

he left a hole. Still there, old wound,

the pines, they stand in mist shrouded from sight,

empty patches sinking into the night.

***

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Let’s chat! What are your thoughts on the poem? Any fellow military brats out there? What’s the longest you’ve lived in one place?

Similar poems: Goodbye Again, Dandelion Seeds, and Cathedral

Poem: Goodbye Again

I recently discovered where my first poems ran off to. For some reason, when I got my new laptop, they’d vanished. When revisiting my old (really slow) laptop to clear it off, I found the poems I wrote for my Creative Writing class back when I attended Evangel.

My main question when posting one here: how much do I edit it?

After four years, my writing style has certainly changed, for my stories and for my poetry. Would editing it now change the meaning I had intended when I submitted the poems, first for my class and later for my writing portfolio? Would editing now reflect my current style more than my former?

Maybe. Maybe not.

Either way, I’ve decided to leave the poems, at least the one I’m sharing here, untouched. Don’t worry, though. I edited it multiple times back in uni. The following work is dedicated to the members of the armed forces and their family members. Thank you for your sacrifice to protect the United States and her allies.

Goodbye Again

The threshold of another hollow house remembers the

months—years ago with company, smiles, and shouts. Now

filled with disinfectants, paint, and empty air, the building

stuffs Memories into the car again to

fly from the void

of singing oceans, laughing thunder, and whispering evergreens.

Another house frames our past:

handmade leis, cowboy hats, and matryoshkas.

New neighbors—family, not in blood,

but in swamp-or-desert-green garb,

fill home with guest books, new quilts, and pecan pies

as a company, we smiling and shouting.

Day—years tiptoe past.

Another house empties, chucking up its goods

like vomit. Our camo family remains behind

filling the void with “Goodbye.”

***

Let’s chat! Any other military brats out there? What sort of things in your house speak to where you’ve been? What’s the longest you’ve ever lived in one house/apartment? How long have you known your closest friends?

Similar poems: Dandelion Seeds, Cathedral, and Bury Me

Recommended Reading: Military Brat Edition

Military Brat: term commonly used to describe a child of a member of the armed forces, especially the air force, army, coast guard, marines, and navy. Doesn’t always refer to somebody under the age of 18. Typically lives in five or more houses (not to mention states/countries) and moves at least once every three to five years. Also answers to their name, sibling’s name, “military child,” or “ask me where I’m from one more time…”

Here are some works of fiction I’ve enjoyed for the military brats, their friends, and anybody who’s ever wondered what it’s like to move at least once every three years.

This post is not about books that accurately represent the lifestyle of the contemporary military brat. Rather, these books are a collection of books that I, as a military brat, have been able to relate to because of some element or another. I have yet to find a fictional book that actually describes this kind of lifestyle.

Books are listed in alphabetical order according to the author’s last name.

Ender’s Saga by Orson Scott Card (sci-fi)

Ender’s Game is good if you want to understand military tactics and psychology more, but the rest of the series is great. I actually enjoyed the later books more than the first one. The stories go on to explore the different mindsets between different cultures and what it’s like to move from place to place, actually showing different places, and how it changes family dynamics. Ender and Valentine are close as siblings, like my own sister and I are.

A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia A. Cole (YA sci-fi)

With the mind of a talented scientist, Octavia wants to better understand the world in which she lives and those who lived there long before humans. I particularly like the way the story explores several generations of humankind living on the planet, which is also rather odd because I usually enjoy the whole initial discovery process. I found I could relate to Octavia as I have lived in foreign countries, though unlike her, I wasn’t born in them.

Somewhere Among by Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu (MG historical fiction & novel in verse)

This book is among the few that addresses the difficulties that come with different time zones, and not just jet lag that comes with arrival but also the continual time difference that comes with living overseas. While Ema and her parents are living with her dad’s parents in Japan, they keep in touch with her mom’s parents back in the United States. As I have spent considerable time living in Europe, I have to mentally compensate for the time differences for my friends back in the States. Hint: It’s seven hours difference between Central European Time and Central (American) Time, so I typically have to wait until noon my time before any of my friends are awake.

Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton (MG historical fiction & novel in verse)

I relate to a lot of characters in novels in verse. This novel in particular explores what it is like for a family to move to a town where nobody quite understands them. As a military brat, I have no idea what it’s like to live in the same house for more than three years, but there are plenty of people who have never left their own state.

While my parents come from the same country and the same town, this book is great for those whose parents do not.

The Someday Birds by Sally J. Pla (MG contemporary)

Road trip! It’s so hard to find a good road trip book. There are plenty of books that have road trips, but this one doesn’t just focus on the places, it also focuses on the characters. That and it explores the differences between sleeping at home, in a strange hotel, a stranger’s house, or in an RV. All of which I have done at one time or other on road trips of my own whenever my family moved across the country.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (fantasy)

Many fantasy novels are about journeys. But this one is among the few about an actual nomad. Kvothe was born and raised among a group of traveling bards, so he never fits in just one place. Kinda like a military brat.

This book is also an epic fantasy novel, so of course I enjoyed it!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (YA historical fiction)

This book made me cry. Later, I teared up while watching the film, not when certain characters died, but when Papa had to leave. As a military child, I know how rough it can be when a parent is deployed and not knowing whether or not they’ll come back home safely.

There you have it! I hope you enjoy the recommendations.

Let’s chat! Have any of these books made it to your To-Be-Read List yet? Have you read any of them? My fellow military brats, what books could you relate with? To all the readers, what’s the last book a friend gave you that helped you understand them better?

***

Book Reviews: A Conspiracy of Stars and Full Cicada Moon

Similar posts: 7 Reasons I Enjoy Fantasy Novels, 7 Reasons I Enjoy Sci-Fi, 7 Reasons I Enjoy Historical Fiction, and 7 Reasons I Enjoy Novels in Verse

Poem: Dandelion Seeds

If you don’t already know, I like books. Seriously, though. When it comes to traveling, I always bring at least five books with me—a collection of poetry, two fiction novels, my journal, and my Bible.

Then there’s books strewn throughout my house. I may call my room the library, because it has most bookshelves and I’m in charge of organizing and dusting them all, but that’s not where the books I’m currently reading spend their time. Sometimes they sit on the couch, on the windowsill, on the stairs, in my purse. They’re all over.

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.” –Marcus Tullius Cicero

In recognition of all this idea, I decided to write a poem that combines it with the symbol of the military brat. We’re often referred to as dandelions—hardy, scattered across the world, and can put down roots anywhere.

Dandelion Seeds

Books are strewn from floor-to-floor,

collected in corners and atop coffee tables

scattered from the shelves and minds

from across the world,

like seeds scattered in the wind.

Light reads blow away—dancing as they go—

to find another home, but the occasional book

that makes one stop, and think,

and breathe in the scent of the earth,

the damp air foretelling rain,

that pages of this life—

these books take root

in the otherwise hardened patio of the mind.

***

Similar posts: Pile of Words and Some Notes on the Three Days of Summer

Let’s chat! What did you think of this poem? What’s the average number of books you tend to travel with? How many books are scattered across your house?