(I’m not entirely sure when I started writing this poem; it might have been in the 1990s when I was at university, or possibly even earlier. I did enter it in a poetry contest on the theme of nature in around 2014, and it got a runner up prize. Which was nice.)

A breeze blows through the trees;
The broad beams of their bodies
Sway gently.


Tall and noble they stand,
A triumph nature planned;
Proud pillars of life.


I breath in what they breath out,
Their sap-filled scent is all about;
Inhale and exhale.


By their shadows I'm enshrouded,
And their peaceful presences surrounded;
Calm and serene.


When darkness comes, they do not mind,
Through the gloom their forms I find,
Skyward pointing.


Torn up, cut down, poisoned, destroyed,
Yet by these abuses they're not annoyed;
Patience they have.


Mankind's iron in time shall rust,
His cities all decay to dust,
Oak and birch grow where they please;
Victory to trees!