Glory All Around

Trees! One of God’s most glorious gifts. They give us food, shade, homes, paper—but best of all, beauty. Joyce Kilmer’s famous “Trees” is worth sharing with the next generation. Here’s the whole poem:

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

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest Again 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.

My mother used to recite that poem so often that the words now seem very comforting and familiar. I think she especially liked the final line—showing a bit of humor and spunk by Alfred Joyce Kilmer, a poet and journalist who was killed in World War I at age 31. Though his poems were panned by critics of his time, this one has endured for a hundred years. What’s wrong with simple and faith-filled?

What I love about the great fall colors we’re now seeing around Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky is the surprises. I turn a corner and see a fabulous blaze of yellow. I walk to the mailbox and see my neighbor’s tree, flaming red-orange.

I drive down my friend’s street and am struck with the contrast of yellow, green, red, all in a row.

The burning bushes are finally bursting with their pinkish red brilliance.

I look on my deck and see that even my potted blueberry is contributing to the fall color. We thought we were missing our fall color this year, but it was just later than usual.

Here it is, the season when I want to shout praises to God for making all this glorious color! As Finn said long ago about a daffodil, “Good job, God!”