Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Heart of A Tree
Heart of A Tree
First Stanza
What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants a friend of sun and sky;
The poem opens with the refrain which asks “What does
he plant who plants a tree?” and that sets the tone for the
entire poem. We instantly realize that the poet is going to
explain the usefulness of planting a tree. However, the
poet himself answers by stating that the man plants a
friend of sun and sky by planting a tree.
A plant grows upwards and aims to reach the sun and the
sky. So it is as if the sun and the sky get a new friend in a
tree. Secondly, the tree needs sunlight and air to survive.
And finally, the trees seem to absorb the heat and save the
earth from the scorching sun, giving an implication that
the sun becomes friendly in the presence of the trees.
He plants the flag of breezes free;
The shaft of beauty towering high;
The speaker now adds that the man plants a flag that flies
freely in the mild breeze. The poet here compares the
leafy branches of the tree to a flag and the stem to the
beautiful shaft (pole) of the flag that stands tall.
He plants a home to heaven anigh;
For song and mother-croon of bird
Second Stanza
What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants cool shade and tender rain,
Trees are the main elements that make a plain area green
and beautiful. So the poet describes trees as ‘the glory of
the plain’. Moreover, today’s single tree may turn into a
forest someday. So by planting a tree now the man plants
a ‘forest’s heritage’.
The harvest of a coming age;
The joy that unborn eyes shall see—
These things he plants who plants a tree.
Third stanza
What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants in sap and leaf and wood,
In love of home and loyalty
And far-cast thought of civic good—
His blessings on the neighbourhood,
By planting a tree the man shows his love and loyalty for
this earth (his home), his sense of civic duty and his
blessings on the neighbourhood. All these are reflected in
the ‘sap and leaf and wood’, in every cell of the tree.
Who in the hollow of His hand
Holds all the growth of all our land—
A nation’s growth from sea to sea
Stirs in his heart who plants a tree.
Personification
Metaphor