Imperishable Tree (Golden Shovel)

After "Trees" by Joyce Kilmer

Photo by Minku Kang on Unsplash

“But only God can make a tree.” Trees by Joyce Kilmer

I'm humbled by this fragile frame but
Wonderfully made he says I am. If only
I could see the roots and how far God
Is driving them in. My dull heart can
Barely see any good coming from me. I make
A mess of everything, but in a
Blink I'll one day be—raised again—an imperishable tree.

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Trees was one of the first poems that struck me and stuck with me. I love its simplicity. I love what it communicates. Joyce Kilmer (1886—1918) was a poet who kept it simple and I think he inspires me to do the same. It did, however, make him subject to many criticisms. Ultimately, Kilmer went on to serve and lose his life in the Great War. His poem, Prayer of a Soldier in France is similarly simple and profound.

I love the final stanza of Trees, “Poems are made by fools like me / But only God can make a tree.” The humility of the poet is exactly why criticism of this poem is undue. What it lacks in sophistication it makes up for in delightful truth-telling. Complexity does not always mean better, after all.

My poem above is written in a form called the golden shovel, created by Terrance Hayes. This is a poetic form that takes a line (or lines) from another poem and uses them as the final word in each line (in mine, “But only God can make a tree”). I hope that the simplicity of my poem honors that of Kilmer’s Trees. May they remind us to join the rest of creation: looking at God all day, and lifting our leafy arms to pray.