Lyric Poem · Nature
Trees
by Joyce Kilmer · 1913
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.
Full-text availability follows the United States display decision recorded below; status can differ elsewhere.
“Trees” by Joyce Kilmer — quilloak.com/poems/trees
Quick facts
- Poem
- Trees
- Poet
- Joyce Kilmer
- Published
- 1913
- Length
- 12 lines
- Form
- Lyric Poem, Rhyming Poems, Short Poems
- Themes
- Nature, Short
Craft notes
How this poem works
Measured from the text on this page, not copied from a summary. Counts are approximate: syllables and rhymes come from the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary, which models General American English, so dialect, older pronunciation, and performance can all change what you hear.
- Shape
- 12 lines · 6 couplets
- End rhyme
- AA in 67% of the stanzas — a rhyming couplet. The remaining stanzas vary, often through slant rhyme.
- Line length
- Mostly 8-syllable lines (tetrameter length).
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Text, source & rights
A traceable edition
Full-text display is based on the cited edition and a United States term-expiry review.
- Author record
- Joyce Kilmer1886–1918
- Source record
- WikisourceTrees by joyce-kilmer, Wikisource transcription
- Display decision
- Full text · United States · reviewed 2026-07-18
- Publication record
- 1913
- Text fingerprint
- SHA-256 42e098826b67f1bd…
- Editorial handling
- Whitespace and stanza breaks normalized for web display; no material wording change recorded.
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