Tottenham Trees
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    • Tottenham parks >
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      • Mulberry tree >
        • The Mulberry in Reform Row
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      • Epping
      • It's a Word Thing!
      • The Elder
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    • Past Tottenham tree events >
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        • Calling Tree: gallery
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      • The Conservation Volunteers
      • Tree packs for free
    • Who we are
Picture

The Elder
Twenty years now since under this elder
We first embraced.  Do you remember
Her bright arms flying, the fleeting, flashing
Light, and the clouds scudding?  How wild
And uproariousness was our happiness!
 
Twenty years now since under this lintel
We passed, and the house stood around us.
Do you remember the child in the elder
And her golden hair? The doves
In the leaves and the berries’ blood?
How we raised the tent of our love under the eaves!
 
Twenty years and each night, my companion,
You watch the moon move through the branches.
It silvers your hair.  O my heart’s beam and protector,
Beneath the elder vaulting our heaven:
May she hold us forever far from the stars’ cold lattices.

© Hilary Davies,
Exile and the Kingdom, Enitharmon Press, 2016










Under the Elderberry Tree
 1
The Songbird
 
I cannot imagine
Life without poetry
Making a birdsong.
The songbird
Disturbs everything.
 
Better to be dead
Than alive among cherry blossom
That does not move us.
 
I am not with you long.
Enjoy me
As I turn into cherry blossom.
 
*
 
Before I go
I want to say
Why I loved life.
 
It was because
Without a doubt
It was possible to love.
 
Gone from the world, I go
A cipher, a sign
Of happiness.

© Sebastian Barker,
The Land of Gold, Enitharmon Press, 2014

Poems read by Hilary at the Tottenham Trees Poetry evening, March 2017
Find out what's happening!
Learn more about trees
Find out out about the Tree Charter
Contact us at: tottenhamtrees@gmail.com
In Tottenham seven trees were planted in a ring over 400 years ago for reasons lost in time; the Seven Sisters area and the underground station are named after them. The seven trees have been replanted a number of times, always by seven sisters. The current trees were planted in 1996 by the newly formed Tree Trust for Haringey. 

The Tottenham Trees logo, based on the mosaic by Hans Unger at Seven Sisters Underground Station, shows the 450 year old oak in Bruce Castle Park, the oldest tree in Tottenham
.

Picture
  • Tottenham Trees
    • Tottenham parks >
      • Tree planting in parks
      • St Ann's Redevelopment
    • Trees in Tottenham (Galleries) >
      • Tottenham trees (A-D common name)
      • Tottenham Trees (E-K common name)
      • Tottenham Trees (L-R common name)
      • Tottenham Trees (S-Z common name)
    • Special trees in Tottenham >
      • Mulberry tree >
        • The Mulberry in Reform Row
      • Seven Sisters
      • Tottenham Oak >
        • Of this tree
    • Trees in Art from Tottenham
    • Trees in Words from Tottenham >
      • Epping
      • It's a Word Thing!
      • The Elder
  • Trees
    • Charter for Trees >
      • Add your voice
      • Become a charter champion
      • Charter history
      • Charter Principles
      • Independent Panel on Forestry
    • Latest news on Trees >
      • Tree articles 2016
      • Tree articles 2015
    • Trees in the Townscape
    • Street Trees
    • Tree care
    • Growing trees from seed
    • Threats to our trees
  • Inspirations
    • Wangari Maathai >
      • Green Belt Movement
      • Institute and Foundation
      • First Seven Trees
      • Remembering Wangari
      • Kenya
    • Felix Finkbeiner
    • Chico Mendes
    • Chipko Movement
    • Inspiring stories from around the world
  • Plant for the Planet
    • 3 Point Plan
  • Future Forest
  • Tree Events
    • Past Tottenham tree events >
      • 800 year Charter anniversary
      • National Tree Week 2017
      • Poetry Sunday @ Bruce Castle
      • Poetry @ The Room
      • Calling Tree: Tottenham >
        • Calling Tree: gallery
      • London Tree Week 2017
      • London Tree Week 2016
    • Trees Calendar
  • Resources
    • Tree Identification
    • Other Haringey Green Spaces
    • Campaign organisations
    • Ways to get involved >
      • The Conservation Volunteers
      • Tree packs for free
    • Who we are
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