SALUTE TO THE TREES 



HENRY VAN DYKE 



Many a tree is found in the wood 



And every tree for its use is good; 



Some for the strength of the gnarled root, 



Some for the sweetness of flower or fruit; 



Some for shelter against the storm, 



And some to keep the hearthstone warm ; . 



Some for the roof and some for the beam, 



And some for a boat to breast the stream 



In the wealth of the wood since the world began 



The trees have offered their gifts to man. 



But the glory of trees is more than their gifts: 



'Tis a beautiful wonder of life that lifts, 



From a wrinkled seed in an earth-bound clod, 



A column, an arch in the temple of God, 



A pillar of power, a dome of delight, 



A shrine of song, and a joy of sight! 



Their roots are the nurses of rivers in birth; 



Their leaves are alive with the breath of the earth ; 



They shelter the dwellings of man ; and they bend 



O'er his grave with the look of a loving friend. 



I have camped in the whispering forest of pines, 

 I have slept in the shadow of olives and vines; 

 In the knees of an oak, at the foot of a palm 

 I have found good rest and slumber's balm. 

 And now, when the morning gilds the boughs 

 Of the vaulted elm at the door of my house, 

 1 open the window and make salute : 

 u God bless thy branches and feed thy root! 

 Thou hast lived before, live after me, 

 Thou ancient, friendly, faithful tree." 



From Soribner's Magazine; copyright, 1921, by Charles Scribner's Sons. By permission of the publishers. 



