Join the Neopoet online poetry workshop and community to improve as a writer, meet fellow poets, and showcase your work. Sign up, submit your poetry, and get started.

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.

By Joyce Kilmer.

Rhiannon's rewrite:

If there is anyone as beautiful as a tree,
pleas step forward.

What? None? I thought not,
for how can a soft and weak thing
such as you
compare to the strong and silent
pulchritude
of Callicarpa nudiflora
full in bloom?
The Beauty bush, that is its name,
and its truth.
A tree that gives as it recieves
from the Earth,
while all we do is take and take.
We don't give.
Evolution or creation?
I don't care
who made the tree, but I am glad
that they did.
So I'll say again,

if there is anyone as beautiful as a tree,
pleas step forward.

Review Request (Intensity): 
I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back
Review Request (Direction): 
How was my language use?
What did you think of the rhythm or pattern or pacing?
How does this theme appeal to you?
How was the beginning/ending of the poem?
Is the internal logic consistent?
Editing stage: 
Workshop: 

Comments

Nice choice! thanks for the read.

always, Cat

*
When someone reads your work
And responds, please be courteous
And reply in kind, thanks.

"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."
Nash

Ah, another WW1 vet. I have read that Kilmer's critics thought him too sentimental and simplistic, but I love this thing. I fear I'm going to get an "F" for this exercise as I can't find anything wrong with the poem.
EXCEPT...
He capitalized the first letter of each frippin' line! This is giving me way too much grief. I'm going to go take some more anti depressants.
wesley

W. H. Snow

A poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds. Percy Bysshe Shelley

Learn how, teach others.
The NeoPoet Mentor Program
http://www.neopoet.com/mentor/about

Rip into the fuckers.

I also thought of the Ogden Nash piece.

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

that Kilmer was a tree-hugger! Give me an F too! The poem had good rhyme and meter. ~ Gee

There is value to commenting and critique, tell us how you feel about our work.
This must be the place, 'cause there ain't no place like this place anywhere near this place.

All single rhyming couplets and a strict sing-songy meter, has a tendency to trivialise it, hence the Nash. it gives it a trite feel, that lends itself to parody.

Content-wise,
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.

Bullshit, we create, if not trees. And god doesn't do it, evolution did.

Do you think you could edit it, a big job, to give a freeform rhyming scheme or drop the rhyme altogether? perhaps loosen up the meter too. It doesn't need to be strict, it just needs to flow.altogether.

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

I beleive that there are two types of poetry structure, neat ( aka strict and cookie cutter form fitting) and sloppy (loose meter, free form rhyme scheme. Keep in mind, sloppy does not always men bad.). Ifeel that I am best a the sloppy poetry, though I often tryto apply a basic form to my poetry. So have no fear, I will deal with the meter and rhymes.

author comment

is for failing to notice my tongue firmly planted in my cheek. Although Rhiannon and I have had discussion on the nature of god.

I might just give you a B- for failing to acknowledge how the structure trivialised the form, yet that could be a matter of opinion.

with respect and

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

remember I suggested that we crit not just the form of each poem but its basic assumptions. My comment was quite valid. I don't 'sneak' things in, anymore than the assumption that god created trees.

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

wrong thread, sorry

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

With all these good post and comment here I easily make the same mistake some .
I agree with you rewrite and will using your suggesting.

*Collaborative Poetry Workshop* American Version of Japanese Poetry ~ Renga ~ Haiku, Senyru, Tanka.

Neopoet Community

no biggie. it's ok.

author comment

i love the choice of poem you post. I really enjoyed it and agree trees are made by God. I think evolution is dislusional. I watch many etv shows On evolution lately and see no way for evolution to be factual. I debate not religion just my brief.

I can't find anything I want to changed

*Collaborative Poetry Workshop* American Version of Japanese Poetry ~ Renga ~ Haiku, Senyru, Tanka.

Neopoet Community

Thank you both for the detaild comments and critique. I have to agree with Jess as far as the whole God topic goes. He has in fact givin me some helpful advice on tje subject. Much appriciated by the way.

author comment

This poem certainly takes me back... to where exactly I can't remember, but correct me if I'm wrong... someone actually made a song out of it.
I tend to agree with Jess that the sheer simplicity of the meter, and the rhyming couplets, are too 'cutesy' and water down the message, at least for me!
Nice reminder to go out and hug a tree though!
Thanks for posting!

Bonitaj

if they made a song about this song.

author comment

Let me know what you think about my rewrite.

author comment

Not being a "free verser" myself, I miss the rhyme in your version. Beside being a good piece in and of itself, it seems to be almost a polar opposite of the original. There is a fair amount of... animosity?... in your version whereas the original is sentimental to a fault.
It's also exciting to see a poet use "pulchritude" in a poem correctly.
Vocabulary Junkie, wesley

W. H. Snow

A poet is a nightingale, who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds. Percy Bysshe Shelley

Learn how, teach others.
The NeoPoet Mentor Program
http://www.neopoet.com/mentor/about

im glad you like it. I also enjoy proper vocabulary.

author comment

N.B. Please post your edit/ re-write as a poem straight after the original in the same box, so we can compare them directly. Do not post as a comment on the thread or on a separate page. Click edit and paste your work in directly after the original poem.

In other words both poems, the original and the edit/rewrite should appear in the post. Sorry if I was unclear

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

I did.

author comment

I'm a second-generation tree hugger, literally. (Didn't know either set of my grandparents.) So the original poem's content always struck a chord with me.

I like your cheeky version.

Me, I like to think of God as an unknown unknown and evolution as its vehicle of creation and its ongoing perfection of creation. Though, at this juncture, mankind is probably not its best work.

~A

your re-write and yes... It is pulchritudinous! ;) old Latin scholars love that word. That was how we learned to do a feminine declentions in the 8th grade!
But seriously, I found the fun in your cheeky, assertive manner of asking one of greater beauty to step forward! Of note, is how you picture the creator as THE GODS... I.e. "they did" neither feminine or masculine.
Interesting take!
cheers

Bonitaj

and I believe that the creator is unisex but manafests as whatever gender a specific persn can identify best with. I aline myself with the Goddess.

author comment

i like your rewrite. Your version a bit different. The original gives us the sentiment of nature's creation of a tree and tpits beauty. Whereas I see the human aspect
Such as thes verses
What? None? I thought not,
for how can a soft and weak thing
such as you
compare to the strong and silent
pulchritude
of Callicarpa nudiflora
full in bloom?
The Beauty bush, that is its name,

I see animosity for some one in these verses
Compare to the original where as someone above say sentimental chords I find warming

Nice rewrite showing you take

*Collaborative Poetry Workshop* American Version of Japanese Poetry ~ Renga ~ Haiku, Senyru, Tanka.

Neopoet Community

my skinhead approach-
fuckin trees
birds shit from them

Any feedback on this workshop or ideas for future ones please let me know at
http://new.neopoet.com/workshop/critique-quickie

cheers,
Jess
A new workshop on the most important element of poetry-
'Rhythm and Meter in Poetry'
https://www.neopoet.com/workshop/rhythm-and-meter-poetry

(c) Neopoet.com. No copyright is claimed by Neopoet to original member content.