City Trees

Edna St. Vincent Millay 1892 (Rockland) – 1950 (Austerlitz)



The trees along this city street,
Save for the traffic and the trains,
Would make a sound as thin and sweet
As trees in country lanes.

And people standing in their shade
Out of a shower, undoubtedly
Would hear such music as is made
Upon a country tree.

Oh, little leaves that are so dumb
Against the shrieking city air,
I watch you when the wind has come,—
I know what sound is there.

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 21, 2023

23 sec read
731

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABAB CDCD EFEF
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 383
Words 77
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Edna St. Vincent Millay was an American poet and playwright. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1923, the third woman to win the award for poetry, and was also known for her feminist activism more…

All Edna St. Vincent Millay poems | Edna St. Vincent Millay Books

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