On scorched and conflagrated sands,
In sapped and grudging desolation,
The solitary Upas stands
Grim sentinel of all creation.
– from The Upas Tree (Анчар) by Alexander Pushkin
read more
a variety of other translations
listen in Russian
Praa Sands, Cornwall, May 2021
Praa Sands was a regular summer pleasure in my childhood. On a recent visit, I was shocked to see the toll that erosion has taken in the last 50 years.
This solitary tree has descended from the gardens above and now stands grimly on the sands below. It immediately reminded me of the Pushkin Anchar(Анчар) poem, but the desiccated tree also had its own poetic words attached:
Touching the cliff I held on so hard
Now here’s where I stand, still proud but scarred
My bark has come off and my leaves are all gone
But I am again that proud tree that is still hanging on.
– from The Beach Tree by Beach Bum
full version below
–
Copyright Debbie Smyth, 30 July 2021
Posted as part of Becky’s TreeSquare
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Travel with Intent 
Fabulous Debbie just fabulous 🙂 🙂
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That tree certainly did its best! When we lived in Ohio, you see the banks of Lake Erie eroding a little at a time. It’s been going on for years and people who built too close to the edge are getting a bit worried!
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Terrifying isn’t it. Makes you realise how vulnerable we are in many ways.
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Had me thinking of Ozymandias, King of Kings…of the natural world
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I think that is even more daunting than Pushkin’s conflagrated sands and grudging desolation.
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Well, yes
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Scary human misuse of the natural world and this planet…. BTW, brilliant poem
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The gives and the sea takes…
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My favourite coast is the Yorkshire coast but this is disappearing rapidly as we abandon sea defences.
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Yes, I could see the evidence of that on my recent visit to Yorkshire. Scary nature! And even scarier human misuse of nature
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https://apetcher.wordpress.com/2019/08/12/yorkshire-and-a-disappearing-coast/
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Thanks for the link, Andrew – a great post
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The erosion in some parts of this country is terrifying, but apparently it is all being added somewhere else?!
Just love how we are treated to two poems today, loving your opening stanza, and then the tree’s own poem. So beautiful.
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I think erosion plus human-induced climate change is a big concern now. I’m glad I don’t live close to the coast. But recent flooding suggests many of us will feel as though we are close to the coast!
And the opening stanza was a brilliant translation of Pushkin. I found a few others, but this was the best (to me)
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Yeah I was thinking climate change I was looking at it – I’m not sure any of us are quite ready though to drastically change our lives as we need to to help slow it down. And governments and big businesses are certainly not encouraging us or helping us in any shape or form to change. I shudder to think what my granddaughter’s world is going to be like in 50 years or so
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PS you, Sandy and Clare deserve a standing ovation for all the quotes and poetry you have found this month. And Brian of course for his music too!
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I have been loving the quotes this month too Becky. Debbie and Clare have been wonderful 🤗💕
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