Poems (Hoffman)/To the Trees
TO THE TREES
Trees of the forest and the wooded glen,Say will ye claim companionship with menWho with a smaller, weaker arm have daredTo spill thy life-sap on thy native sward,And with remorseless hand thy fibers rend,Say, canst thou make this enemy thy friend?Not ours to choose, a thousand gifts attestThat we by thy existence are but blest,We at thy feet might sit and learn,Nor feel a spark of just resentment burn;But ye possess a more than human graceTo smile upon the spoilers of thy race.