Trees by Joyce Kilmer

 

                                                (Photo by Brian Green)

Trees

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

~ Joyce Kilmer ~

BIO: Alfred Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918) died at the tender age of 32, but his poem, Trees, is one of the most treasured in America. It was originally published in 1914 in his poetry collection, Trees and Other Poems, by George H. Doran Company. Kilmer fought in World War I and received the War Cross from the French government for bravery. He died from a sniper bullet on July 30, 1918. An old growth forest in North Carolina is named for him.

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