Sunday, May 27, 2007

Trees by Joyce Kilmer

Trees


I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest
Against the sweet earth's 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

Trees
I think that I shall never see
A billboard lovely as a tree;
Indeed, unless the billboards fall
I'll never see a tree at all
--Ogden Nash


Sorry I forgot to post yesterday--life is getting hectic with the move. Here's Saturday's poem.
Many poems have been gifted with humorous responses by other authors. Sometimes it's parody, sometimes homage, sometimes response, sometimes rebuttal. Here's one of my favorites. The original is a lovely bit of Nature poetry. I like the way he makes the tree seem conscious, and yet not altogether human - almost like he's writing about an ent or dryad. The second is the sort of witty rhyme that we have come to expect from Ogden Nash. I wonder if his poems are so often short because it takes him forever to find just the right way of saying it, or if a quick rhyme or two pops into his head and he just whips it off and is done with it.

1 comment:

  1. That's fun, Karen. I don't think I've ever heard the entirety of "Trees." Thanks for posting these each day. It's great to have someone giving me a good-parts-version of the poetry world.
    And Happy Birthday today!
    Love,
    Steve

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