Governor of California Gets Poetic

To celebrate Arbor Day, California Governor Jerry Brown incorporated the verse of his friend Gary Snyder into a press release. See this, from the LA Times:

But when it came time draft a proclamation in honor of Arbor Day, the sort of mundane chore that most governors would think little to nothing about, Gov. Jerry Brown felt compelled to wax poetic. He recalled a poem by his old friend, the beat poet Gary Snyder.

Brown didn’t remember the entire poem, but directed his staff to dig it up for him so he could include it in his official state recognition of the day dedicated to tree planting.

His staff complied and Snyder’s verse “Gold, Green” was included in the press release.

Then the governor weighed in on the importance of trees. “Trees provide shelter for us and for birds and wildlife. They give us shade and conserve our soil. We harvest fruit from trees and at the same time enjoy their beauty,” he wrote.