The Trees

Philip Larkin 1922 (Coventry) – 1985 (Hull)



The trees are coming into leaf
Like something almost being said;
The recent buds relax and spread,
Their greenness is a kind of grief.

Is it that they are born again
And we grow old? No, they die too,
Their yearly trick of looking new
Is written down in rings of grain.

Yet still the unresting castles thresh
In fullgrown thickness every May.
Last year is dead, they seem to say,
Begin afresh, afresh, afresh.
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Submitted by RobertHaigh on July 26, 2020

Modified on May 02, 2023

22 sec read
879

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABBA XCCX DEED
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 398
Words 75
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4

Philip Larkin

Philip Larkin was born in 1922 and grew up in Coventry, England. He earned his BA from St John's College, Oxford, and finished with First Class Honours in English. In 1955 he became Librarian of the Brynmor Jones Library at the University of Hull, a post he held until his death in 1985. He was the best-loved poet of his generation, and the recipient of innumerable honours, including the Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry. more…

All Philip Larkin poems | Philip Larkin Books

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