Though each one has a head of wood,
Theirs is a wiser brotherhood
Than any man has understood:
The giant sequoia, with his eye
Tracing the track where eagles fly,
His forehead pressed against the sky;
The ilex, who in rusty gown–
Patrician-poor — looks never down
Upon the squar Italian town;
The yew, a somber mother, wed
To ageless Time, her arms outspread
Protectingly above the dead;
The aspen, fluttering nervously,
Like spinsters reading poetry
Of heterosexuality;
The pine, who keeps his watch alone,
Green-hooded, in a snowy zone,
And blankets earth with leaf and cone;
The peasant wives who understand
Their slavery to our demand,
With red-cheeked babes in orchard land;
The willow, weeping tears of green;
The laughing gray birch, silver-clean;
The quiet oak, sedate, serene.
Whether they line an avenue
Or dance the hills, a merry crew,
Trees have a peace we never knew.
Theirs a sane camaraderie…
The more I know of you and me,
The more I reverence a tree.
(Benjamin Musser)
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Based on Topics: Man Poems, Time Poems, Nature Poems, War & Peace Poems, Mothers PoemsBased on Keywords: brotherhood, ilex, spinsters, nervously, red-cheeked, squar, sequoia, camaraderie, heterosexuality