A poem lovely as a tree

I took this photo of the oak tree in our back garden early this morning, with today’s blip in mind. I liked the way the moon was sitting in the main fork of the trunk but, more importantly, I wanted to capture our majestic oak for another reason.

Today is my late father’s birthday – he would have been 102 today. A few days ago I read in my Poem a Day book one of several parodies that exist of Joyce Kilmer’s poem, "Trees". It immediately brought to mind the sound of my father singing the song lyrics to Kilmer’s poem, which had been popularised by Paul Robeson, amongst others.

I love the way that I learn so much when researching for Blip. I discovered, for example, that Joyce Kilmer was not female as I had always thought – his full name was Alfred Joyce Kilmer. He was American, and a devout Christian. He fought, and died, in the first world war. He was posthumously awarded the Croix de Guerre for valour.

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 1886 - 1918