Trees: Study Guide | SparkNotes

“Trees” is a short devotional poem written by the Catholic poet and essayist Joyce Kilmer

. The premise of this deceptively simple work is that no poem could ever be as lovely as a tree. In six tightly structured couplets, the speaker develops this basic idea into a powerful meditation on nature and faith. First published in a 1913 issue of Poetry: A Magazine in Verse, “Trees” was an immediate popular success. It has since been set to music by several composers, and it continues to be anthologized to this day.

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