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CULTURAL ELTHAM
The Blind Woman and the Atlas Cedar A
blind lady has formed a poetic bond with one of Eltham’s oldest
trees.
Claire McLaughlin’s affi nity for the ancient Cedar of Lebanon in Well Hall Pleasaunce has given voice to her lifetime passion for writing and literature.
The poem parallels her dreams of sight with the tree’s own hopes of one day seeing its homeland.
Claire studied English at Oxford University and had a career in publishing, gradually losing her sight in middle age.
She then re-trained as a bereavement counsellor and practised at CRUSE in Westmount Road for 10 years before her retirement.
Her frequent walks in Well Hall Pleasaunce with husband John enable her to enjoy the sounds and smells of nature.
She said: “I was
following the tree trail in the Pleasaunce and enjoyed the description of this majestic tree.
I often
fi nd inspiration for my writing in the world of nature, and I particularly love trees.
“They are so like us, and yet so unlike. They have such character, not just each separate species, but each
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individual tree. They are more rooted in the earth than we are, and closer to the sky. They endure much, but enjoy hour by hour the beauty of the changing seasons and the weather.
“The descriptions of the trees on the Pleasaunce Trail are written with real love for them, as well as being packed with fascinating information, and they
The Blind Woman and the Atlas Cedar
Oh cedrus atlantica libani! a lonely giant in this London park I’m standing next to you, your dwarf admirer, my fl eshy fi ngers studying your bark.
So little unites us. But maybe, in both our heads – your green-spiked pinnacle against the overcast, my low-down round one sprouting soft hairs from every follicle –
the dream is similar: a blue sky a sun-bleached mountain, and down its mighty fl ank,
the sea-green soldiers of the cedar army magnifi cently marching, rank on rank.
Imagine how God sees it, the beauty of bright blue sky, and glossy forest pelt covering the mountain. Under His giant fi nger the softest, silkiest fur He’s ever felt!
For cedrus atlantica libani, it is a dream to banish loneliness a dream of losing self, and sense of self within a green infi nitude of trees.
All through the shadowy forest a stillness, a holy quiet, prevails around the roots, along the sweeping branches, in the dim glades and down the endless aisles;
a secret mystery of sharing that trees have celebrated here as long as men can count the years. Each cedar soul is nourished by it, and his heart grows strong.
For homo sapiens (caecus) (me) the dream’s a dream of being somewhere else - a blaze of air and light and vivid colour to burn away the grey walls of my cell.
A dream of scrambling through branches until, perched windily in the tallest tree, across the miles of tossing cedar tops I glimpse the far blue glitter of the sea.
The Cedar tree in question dates back well into the 19th century and features on pictures of Well Hall when it was the home of the children’s author E Nesbit. A second Cedar nearby, of similar vintage, blew down in 1990.
The tree trail, which features 22 of the park’s 240 diff erent specimens, is available on the Pleasaunce Friends website at http://www.
wellhall.org.uk/treetrail.php
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made me appreciate trees all over again, and want to write about them,” she said.
Claire is an avid writer, having worked as a fi ction editor for “Woman” magazine, and for the publisher William Collins before founding her own business advising aspiring writers about their work, and attends a weekly class in Catford which is affi liated to the National Association of Writers Groups.
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