SAMUEL is forever talking of his elm -- But I did not need to die to learn about roots: I, who dug all the ditches about Spoon River. Look at my elm! Sprung from as good a seed as his, Sown at the same time, It is dying at the top: Not from lack of life, nor fungus, Nor destroying insect, as the sexton thinks. Look, Samuel, where the roots have struck rock, And can no further spread. And all the while the top of the tree Is tiring itself out, and dying, Trying to grow. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...A GUY I KNOW ON 47TH AND COTTAGE by CLARENCE MAJOR THE DOLL BELIEVERS by CLARENCE MAJOR BETRAND AND GOURGAUD TALK OVER OLD TIMES by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SWEET CLOVER by EDGAR LEE MASTERS SONG OF THE OPEN COUNTRY by DOROTHY PARKER |