#MIDDLEBURY
The Oak
Letitia Elizabeth Landon
. . . It is the last survivor of a race
Strong in their forest-pride when I was young.
I can remember when, for miles around,
In place of those smooth meadows and corn-fields,
There stood ten thousand tall and stately trees,
Such as had braved the winds of March, the bolt
Sent by the summer lightning, and the snow
Heaping for weeks their boughs. Even in the depth
Of hot July the glades were cool; the grass,
Yellow and parched elsewhere, grew long and fresh,
Shading wild strawberries and violets,
Or the lark’s nest; and overhead the dove
Had her lone dwelling, paying for her home
With melancholy songs; and scarce a beech
Was there without a honeysuckle linked
Around, with its red tendrils and pink flowers;
Or girdled by a brier rose, whose buds
Yield fragrant harvest for the honey-bee
There dwelt the last red deer, those antler’d kings. . .
But this is as a dream,-the plough has pass’d
Where the stag bounded, and the day has looked
On the green twilight of the forest-trees.
This oak has no companion! . . . .
About this poem
“The Oak” was published in Landon’s book “The Improvisatrice” (Hurst, Robinson & Co., 1824).
About Letitia Elizabeth Landon
Letitia Elizabeth Landon was born on Aug. 14, 1802, in London. Her collections of poetry include “The Fate of Adelaide: A Swiss Romantic Tale, and Other Poems” (John Warren, 1821) and “The Improvisatrice” (Hurst, Robinson & Co., 1824). She died on Oct. 15, 1838.
The Academy of American Poets is a nonprofit, mission-driven organization, whose aim is to make poetry available to a wider audience. Email The Academy at poem-a-day@poets.org.
This poem is in the public domain. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
