The Sound of Trees
The Sound of Trees - meaning Summary
Trees as Restless Witnesses
The poem considers why humans tolerate the persistent presence and sound of trees near their homes. The speaker notices how the trees' constant noise alters domestic rhythms, creating a perpetual listening mood and a sense of restless permanence: they speak of leaving yet remain. Watching them sway provokes an urge in the speaker to depart, to make a reckless choice and go away when the trees are loudest. The poem thus links nature's steady, ambiguous motion to human longing for movement and escape, weighing stability against a desire for change.
Read Complete AnalysesI wonder about the trees. Why do we wish to bear Forever the noise of these More than another noise So close to our dwelling place? We suffer them by the day Till we lose all measure of pace, And fixity in our joys, And acquire a listening air. They are that that talks of going But never gets away; And that talks no less for knowing, As it grows wiser and older, That now it means to stay. My feet tug at the floor And my head sways to my shoulder Sometimes when I watch trees sway, From the window or the door. I shall set forth for somewhere, I shall make the reckless choice Some day when they are in voice And tossing so as to scare The white clouds over them on. I shall have less to say, But I shall be gone.
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