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Classic and Contemporary Poetry
THE CAMELLIA TREE OF MATSUE, by AMY LOWELL Poet Analysis Poet's Biography First Line: At matsue / there was a camellia tree of great beauty Last Line: The hold quivered like an open wound Subject(s): Camellias | |||
At Matsue, There was a Camellia Tree of great beauty Whose blossoms were white as honey wax Splashed and streaked with the pink of fair coral. At night, When the moon rose in the sky, The Camellia Tree would leave its place By the gateway, And wander up and down the garden, Trailing its roots behind it Like a train of rustling silk. The people in the house, Hearing the scrape of them upon the gravel, Looked into the garden And saw the tree, With its flowers erect and peering, Pressed against the shoji. Many nights the tree walked about the garden, Until the women and children Became frightened, And the Master of the house Ordered that it be cut down. But when the gardener brought his axe And struck the trunk of the tree, There spouted forth a stream of dark blood; And when the stump was torn up, The hold quivered like an open wound. | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE CAMELLIA by WILLIAM STANLEY ROSCOE WHITE CAMELLIA by EDGAR FAWCETT TWENTY-FOUR HOKKU ON A MODERN THEME by AMY LOWELL |
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