Copse
This English word goes back to the 16th century and is a short form of “coppice.” It means a cluster of trees that springs up continually even if cut for firewood or lumber, sprouting again from established roots. The common use of the word “copse” now describes a compact, clearly defined grove of trees.
Copses arrest my attention when I happen upon them in any terrain. They call to me. I feel intrigued, slightly enchanted. Perhaps it’s because they are singular and plural at once. Clearly defined, solitary presences, yet they are comprised of many: a singular plurality. I lie down amongst them and feel a unique vitality. Isn’t this what we all want, to be independent yet to indisputably belong?
Some other definitions for copse occur to me:
1. A constellation of friends, with roots intertwined, supporting one another, lending strength and company, sharing nourishment and all weathers, celebrating light, present in darkness, singing and sighing in blended voices.
2. A grouping of principles, of beliefs, of convictions that form the single way of an individual’s life, of a life’s being.
Yes, I totally get that attraction to copses too Garth, but never thought to wonder why. Thanks for provoking the inquiry.
I’m also very attracted to those landmark trees that grow out of and around large single rocks in the landscape in Sonoma county (and presumably elsewhere too). They too have a magic to them.
It’s unfortunate that they are mostly on private land, and so inaccessible.