Poetry

Loveliest of Trees. . .

April 25, 2014May 3, 2014 Mary Knapp

Riverside Park, New York City, April 21, 2014

LOVELIEST OF TREES

A.E. Housman

Loveliest of trees, the cherry now

Is hung with bloom along the bough

And stands about the woodland ride

Wearing white for Eastertide.

Now of my threescore years and ten,

Twenty will not come again,

And take from seventy springs a score,

It only leaves me fifty more.

And since to look at things in bloom

Fifty springs is little room,

About the woodland I will go

To see the cherry hung with snow.

Published by Mary Knapp

After a few years in advertising, writing reams of persuasive prose, I finally realized my true calling, went back to graduate school, and became a teacher, first in a public high school, then as a docent at the Merchant’s House Museum in New York City. Now, retired from teaching out loud, I silently share my thoughts with anyone who wants to listen. View all posts by Mary Knapp

One thought on “Loveliest of Trees. . .”

Sarah says:

April 25, 2014 at 11:33 am

I love that poem. My Cherry isn’t quite blooming yet, but we are a little north of you. Any day now. This is fun!

Ah, think not early love alone is strong;
He loveth best whose heart has learned to wait:
Dear messenger of Spring that tarried long,
You’re doubly dear because you come so late.

This is the end of “Late Spring” by Henry Van Dyke

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