Is it weeping because it is sad? Or is it weeping because of its crown? The two definitions of weeping could be interchangeable: a weeping crown signifies a sad emotion. Ever since I read the book 'Weeping Willow' in middle school, I loved the tree. It is mighty, it is beautiful. Many days in my youth and into my adult life I find myself nestled under the canopy of the sagging branches. They blanket me, they offer me shade from the hot sun. I read, or sleep, or lay with someone I love. They create a private-ness no other type of tree can offer, their branches are like curtains. In the winter, when they lose their leaves, their branches, still weeping, look smokey, as if they were sketched on. They are almost always some sort of yellow color.
The weeping willow must be near water, so its roots don't have far to roam. They look beautiful next to a pond. Why must they search so scrupulously for a consistent water supply? Other trees are content with the water that seeps below the surface, but not weeping willows. Perhaps they do weep because they are unhappy. If they can't find their sufficient water supply will they die?
The weeping willow universally symbolizes somberness and melancholy in many countries and cultures. Burial sites, deaths, remembrance. There's a sadness associated with weeping willows, and yet I find myself so awe struck by their presence. I do not feel sad in their presence, though, I feel inspired.
Willow trees are unlike any other tree in appearance and symbolism. These branches wrap around me, blanket me. It is here, under the mighty weeping branches that touch the ground, that I feel loved.
The willows are a peculiar kind of tree - so many people have strong associations with them. They are unusually evocative in ways that trees like maples and oaks just aren't. With their close association with abundant water supplies, I wonder why they are so often associated with death and mourning.
ReplyDeleteThere were some weeping willows in my childhood, so I totally get this. And yet, I really want more physical description of the willows, and I want to know how those descriptions play into your own sense of identity.
ReplyDeleteI don't find much sadness in this tree either. I think Thom is on to something: what lies unexplored in this species, in the metaphor it provides?
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