'Loveliest of Trees'

 A.E. Housman’s short poem about going to see the cherry trees in bloom contains a little math problem:

Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.

 

It’s the story of a young man making it a point to go outside and see the cherries blossom while he can. 

In East Texas, we had more dogwoods than cherries. I’d go far to see them bloom and would think of Housman’s poem.

My 70 years are just about used up, and my view has changed. I still like to get into the woods and see the blooms. But now I also like to stay home and help with the corn, squash, beans, peas and other plants, which the Wise Woman raised from seed, that are going into the garden.

Fifty years ago, the garden seemed like a chore to escape when the dogwoods were blooming. Now the sights in the garden and the sights in the woods are kindred wonders.

• A.E. Housman, “Loveliest of Trees” can be found here:

https://poets.org/poem/loveliest-trees