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Tree

Tree

By Jane Hirshfield b. 1953 Jane Hirshfield
It is foolish
to let a young redwood   
grow next to a house.

Even in this   
one lifetime,
you will have to choose.

That great calm being,
this clutter of soup pots and books—

Already the first branch-tips brush at the window.   
Softly, calmly, immensity taps at your life.

Jane Hirshfield, “Tree” from Given Sugar, Given Salt. Copyright © 2001 by Jane Hirshfield. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.

Source: Given Sugar Given Salt (HarperCollins Publishers Inc, 2001)

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Poet Jane Hirshfield b. 1953

Subjects Nature, Trees & Flowers

Poetic Terms Free Verse

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