Eclectic Echoes

Johann wrote the following poem last year. When he recited it at the art fair for our homeschooling group a number of people thought he was reciting his favorite poem of a well-known poet, not his own work. One mom even said it gave her goosebumps. I convinced him to submit it to Stone Soup magazine. He made it past the first cut. The editor said that was the top 5% of all submissions worldwide for the past year. Considering that they receive hundreds of submissions every week, I thought that was quite an accomplishment in and of itself.

The editor said that if they felt they could use it, they would publish it. Unfortunately, this time they couldn’t fit it into the magazine. Understandably, Johann was very disappointed, but it’s still an excellent poem. Since many of you have heard us talking about it, we thought you’d like to read it and judge for yourselves. I’m hoping Johann will keep trying with new writings and have better luck next time.

The Oak
by Johann Heupel

Night, the dead of night.
The owl hoots from his high perch on the pine.
There is the oak.
He is the oldest tree in these woods.
“Who made these woods?” you ask.
The oak will tell you.
He knows 2,000 years of history and more.
He will tell you no man owns these woods.
The woods are free – free as the nightingale.
And that is the secret of life.