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Friday, June 20, 2014

"I Love a Tree" by Samuel N. Baxter

I LOVE A TREE


When I pass to my reward.

Whatever that may be,
I'd like my friends to think of me
As one who loved a tree.

I may not have a statesman's poise
Nor thrill a throng with speech
But I may benefit mankind
If I set out a beech.

If I transport a sapling oak 
To rear its mighty head
Twill make for them a childhood shrine, 
That will not soon decay.

Of if I plant a tree with fruit,
On which the birds may feed,
Then I have fostered feathered friends
And that's a worthy deed.

For winter when the days grow short
And spirits may run low
I'd plant a pine upon the scape
T'would lend a cheery glow.

I'd like a tree to mark the spot
Where I am laid to rest
For that would be the epitaph
That I would like the best.

Tho it's not carved upon a stone
For those who come to see
But friends would know that resting there 
Is he, who loved a tree


-- Samuel N. Baxter (1872-1935)

Sabal Palmetto in Charleston, SC on The Battery
As for me, I would like a Sabal Palmetto over my grave site, please. It must be a Sabal palmetto and not the Sabal "lisa" palmetto. A small stone and a tree and some daffodils all around it. 
Sabal Palmetto in Charleston, SC on the Battery

1 comment:

  1. nicely done, my friend!
    me, I want the same thing, not a palm, but to be "planted" under a tree, maybe an oak or a cypress,
    to give back what I can when I'm no longer present

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