What Is a Tree?

By Isabel Pinard-Wojick

What do you see when you look at a tree—

A big blob of brown and of green?

Or do you see what I see when I see a tree?

Read on, and you’ll see what I mean:

A live jungle gym, grown for boys and for girls,

A maker of acorns for gray, frisky squirrels,

A snatcher of kites and a gobbler of string,

A strong arm to hold up a black tire swing,

A shaggy-maned lion when storms blow this way,

Or a cool parasol on a warm summer’s day,

And, yes, a safe haven for wing-weary birds,

Where leaves play wind-music without any words.

But the best thing I see when I look at a tree

Is a gift the Creator has given to me.

Illustrated by Richard Hull