Trees by Joyce Kilmer. Jessie B. Rittenhouse, ed. 1922. The Second Book of Modern Verse

Jessie B. Rittenhouse, ed. (1869–1948). The Second Book of Modern Verse. 1922.

Trees

Joyce Kilmer (1886–1918)


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,	5
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.	10

Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.