Tapestry Trees

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Title:     Tapestry Trees
Author: William Morris [More Titles by Morris]

_Oak_.

I am the Roof-tree and the Keel;
I bridge the seas for woe and weal.

_Fir._

High o'er the lordly oak I stand,
And drive him on from land to land.

_Ash_.

I heft my brother's iron bane;
I shaft the spear, and build the wain.

_Yew_.

Dark down the windy dale I grow,
The father of the fateful Bow.

_Poplar_.

The war-shaft and the milking-bowl
I make, and keep the hay-wain whole.

_Olive_.

The King I bless; the lamps I trim;
In my warm wave do fishes swim.

_Apple-tree_.

I bowed my head to Adam's will;
The cups of toiling men I fill.

_Vine_.

I draw the blood from out the earth;
I store the sun for winter mirth.

_Orange-tree_.

Amidst the greenness of my night,
My odorous lamps hang round and bright.

_Fig-tree_.

I who am little among trees
In honey-making mate the bees.

_Mulberry-tree_.

Love's lack hath dyed my berries red:
For Love's attire my leaves are shed.

_Pear-tree_.

High o'er the mead-flowers' hidden feet
I bear aloft my burden sweet.

_Bay_.

Look on my leafy boughs, the Crown
Of living song and dead renown!

[The end]
William Morris's poem: Tapestry Trees

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