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TREES

by Alfred Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918)

*I think that I shall never seeA poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prestAgainst 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 wearA 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.

The actual number of trees on the planet is incalculable but today there are approximately 100,000 known species of trees that exist throughout the world, according to World Resources Institute.
While trees were once spread virtually across all of Earth’s land masses, today they cover about 3.9 billion hectares or just over 9.6 billion acres (FAO Forest Resources Assessment 2000). The fact is, trees now cover only about 29.6 percent of Earth’s total land area.

From 1990 – 2000, about two percent of the world’s forest cover – roughly 10 million hectares – was lost and not recovered, according the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). That rate continues today. Of course there should be much more attention paid to restoring our trees as they are part of what I call “The Great Exchange.” They give us oxygen and we, in turn, give to them carbon dioxide.

But beyond the powerful importance of trees is their majestic beauty. I never cease to get amazed by the beauty of trees. They are bold. They are strong. They are powerful metaphors for abiding love. One of my favorite things in the world is taking a long walk down a path that holds a canopy of oaks bowing to one another in perpetual greeting where branches, like reverent heads, touch one another from either side of the path.

And is there anything better than looking up from the ground into a ceiling dappled endlessly of green leaves, sparkling in a noon-day sun? Trees. They are God’s beautiful handiwork, bundled with endless gifts like furniture, paper and more, oh, much more.

Related Articles

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• FarmVille Irish Trees: Boom Tree and Gorse Tree (games.com)
• thirteen ways of looking at trees (liv2write2day.wordpress.com)
• Lowe’s and American Forests to Give Away One Million Trees for Earth Day (shoppingblog.com)

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