The Man: Why do you grow so tall, way up there in the sky?
The Tree: I love the heights that are clean and free, where the lonely eagles fly, where the crane and the hawk can nest with me, and my friends, the geese, go by.
The Man: What do you use for food, Tree to make you grow and grow?
The Tree: I live on a diet of Nature's best from my roots deep down below; I never go hungry, I rest and rest and wait for the rain and the snow.
The Man: How do you grow so strong, Tree, sturdy and straight and true?
The Tree: I live in the light of the sunshine and yarn for the sky's deep blue; the clean, sweet air is always mine, and the cold winds help me too.
The Man: How do you live so long, Tree, so much longer than man?
The Tree: I've geared my days with the Creator's ways since ever the world began. There is no death when life keeps faith with nature's wonderful plan.
Vincent Godfrey Burns, Poet Laureate of Maryland, 1965
