The yellow-leafed tree

Steven Baird

The veil between dreams

My eyes abide the blighted light
of the yellow-leafed tree.
Please set my stone here
and let us both rest.
But please stop and listen —
I know you can hear it,
the grief in my spirit,

and you see the fraying of my days,
my finite breaths
fading away.

I still lean into old memories,
away from you,
away from who
I wanted to be.

I did not expect to be loved so well.

29 thoughts on “The yellow-leafed tree”

  7. Hello Steven, I would like to put my post ‘The Letter of Lord Chandos’ on an academic website I contribute to (academia.edu). Would you allow me to do that, exactly the same as I have done the post on my blog, including your photography (I would simply export the post as a PDF)? There would be no payment to me, nor would I be seeking any – my purpose in doing so would be to exemplify a philosophical position including the honesty, grace and sincerity I think are so lacking in not only Western philosophy but Western culture. I would obviously reference your blog. Phil

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    1. Hi Steven, I converted the post to a PDF and have uploaded it to academia.edu. I have put a link to your blog at the bottom. If you would like to see the post, search academia.edu with ‘The Letter of Lord Chandos’. You may need to create a free account to see (download) it. If you have any problems doing this, let me know. I hope it – with your photography – gets a good response. My recent upload of ‘A Mystical Tale’ has got a good response so far, if that’s anything to go by. Best wishes as always, Phil

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  9. Hi Steven, I have converted the post to a PDF and uploaded it to academia.edu. I put a link to your blog at the bottom. To see it, search there for ‘The Letter of Lord Chandos’. You may need to create a free account to see (download) it. If you have any problems doing this, let me know. I hope it gets a good response. My recent upload of ‘A Mystical Tale’ has got a good response so far, if that’s anything to go by. Best wishes as always, Phil

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    1. Thank you, Phil. I downloaded successfully, and I enjoyed reading your paper. I’m flattered that you used so many of my photos… I think they were a good accompaniment. Let me know of the responses to your paper. Steve

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      1. Hello Steven, I’m very relieved at your response… When I saved and uploaded the post, some of the formatting was lost. Also when I see it when I log in, there is a strip of advertising above every page (no doubt because I have a free account). The upload is getting a very good response from around the world and this is very interesting to me. When I did not complete my thesis at uni, my supervisor said that this was because I feared, to paraphrase, the blowtorch of powerful academic critique. Nothing could have been further from the truth as I set out in an email to the Chair of the Department (which neither he nor anyone else has replied or responded to). Besides seeking a further avenue for publicity, I set up my account on academia.edu precisely because it is the website of academics – a poke in their collective eye, so to speak. Everything I have seen on it is utterly academic (arcane and scholastic – a collective preening/display of feathers and bowing to the recognised ‘greats’ who have gone before). My recent upload of ‘A Mystical Tale’ has had a good response and it was after that that I asked you for permission to use your photography in uploading the Lord Chandos ‘letter’. Firstly, neither the ‘letter’ nor the photography are mine – it is not my work. Secondly, the ‘letter’, reinforced by your photography bring a sincerity, sensitivity and way of feeling and thinking that I believe philosophy is starved of. They are academics who are seeking out your work. And to contribute towards that and the testing of that is very important and rewarding to me. I’ll keep you informed of further developments. Phil

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