Poetry In A Pot Of Tea: trees

Monday, June 23, 2014

Oak Canyon

I frequently tramped eight or ten miles ... to keep an appointment with a beech-tree, or a yellow birch, or an old acquaintance among the pines.

Henry David Thoreau

Shady path at Oak Canyon

I have to admit I have a thing for trees!

I'm drawn to them and feel serene among them. I enjoy looking at the shape of the branches and notice the color of the bark and how the leaves move in the wind. Follow along with me and I'll show you what I saw there in the canyon~

Trees are your best antiques.

Alexander Smith

bridge leading to the stream and walking paths

There is always music amongst the trees in the Garden,
but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it.

Minnie Aumonier

Gold mining display for elementary school children learning California history

And this, our life, exempt from public haunt,
finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything.

William Shakespeare

My Girl Scout Troop had their

Brownie bridging here. See the ducks in the water? I'd love to have a picnic tea near this stream so we could hear the water gurgle and laugh.

It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanates from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.
Robert Louis Stevenson

Between every two pines is a doorway to a new world.
John Muir

A cache of acorns

Happy summertime!

“I couldn't live where there were no trees--something

vital in me would starve.”

L.M. Montgomery

Anne's House Of Dreams

sharing this post with:

Mosaic Monday

Clever Chicks

Monday, November 12, 2012

As Lovely As A Tree~

photo from frostmagazine

Veteran's Day brings thoughts of my Dad and father-in-law and their military service to our country. They served honorably and with pride. Both shared stories of their time aboard ships: my Dad was a cook in the Navy, and my father-in-law visited tiny islands in the Pacific on a PT boat. They returned with a deepened love and respect for America. God bless all our servicemen and women for their sacrifice, as well as the sacrifice of their families. Thinking about veterans, I Googled information about Joyce Kilmer, who wrote one of the most famous and familiar poems about trees.

Joyce Kilmer (December 1886 – July 1918) was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for a short poem titled "Trees", which was published in the collection Trees and Other Poems in 1914. Though a prolific poet whose works celebrated the common beauty of the natural world as well as his Catholic religious faith, Kilmer was also a journalist, literary critic, lecturer, and editor. Several critics suggested that his style was too traditional. However, at the time of his deployment to Europe during World War I, Kilmer was considered the leading American Roman Catholic poet and lecturer of his generation. He enlisted in the New York National Guard and was deployed to France with the 69th Infantry Regiment (the famous "Fighting 69th") in 1917. He was killed at the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918 at the age of 31, leaving a wife and children.

Joyce was not fortunate enough to return home from battle, but left this simple poem for us to enjoy and remember him by~

I think that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed

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.

I would love to have a teacup and saucer with a tree on it like this one from Royal Albert. Isn't it pretty? It is called Greenwood.

I love the green trim and handle! The scene the cup depicts is so serene and lovely. I can imagine Mr. Kilmer gazing out his window and seeing a tree like this, while jotting down his famous lines.