Atop a southerly slope on Dart’s meander,
To a loyal servant a vista was gifted,
For a millennia of faithful service,
To Monarch, to Church, to Army and Navy,
For palace, pulpit, bow and mast.
When planted, her future was imagined but unknown,
A bequest to posterity, her roots deep in legacy,
Her birthright to grow in stature and grandeur,
To stand as testament of centuries now past.
Her age is now the subject of conjecture and debate,
And though her trunk and limbs are hollow and twisted,
The passage of time has not imprisoned her,
Growing instead more graceful and steadfast.
She embraces past and future, a symbol of infinity,
No respecter of status, a giver of life to all,
An apothecary to the ill, a refuge to the smallest creature,
But at heart she stands planted and present;
In her shelter, despite the storms, we are rooted at last.
Sacha Harber-Kelly, June 2025
Sacha writes:
I had been practising mindfulness on my own for about two years as part of recovery from long term ill health. I was encouraged to immerse myself more in the practice and this led to a retreat. I was attracted to Sharpham because of the beautiful setting and the focus on the Trust’s commitment to nature and the environment.
By the stage of my recovery that I attended the retreat I had started to write for therapeutic reasons. So it was that on the silent day of my first Sharpham retreat at the beginning of June 2025, that I wrote the poem “The Sharpham Yew”.
I knew that for some in the group the Yew was a meaningful place so wanted to write a poem as a gift for them. I did do with a degree of trepidation as I was conscious that what I wrote might not in fact aline with their experience. I didn’t want to misinterpret their experience or to either detract from or diminish it. I nonetheless pressed ahead deciding I would resolve whether to share it or not later.
On the last night there was an opportunity given to all to share something of themselves or experience. I decided that I would share the poem. I explained my reservations but expressed my hope that with it would be received in the spirit it was being offered. Thankfully it was enjoyed, with both those I had in mind and others sharing with me how much it meant. Many in the group also asked for a copy.
