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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

FRIGHTENED TREES by EDWIN CARLILE LITSEY

First Line: I SAW THREE TREES AGAINST A STORMY SKY
Last Line: IN SOLITUDE TO MOAN THEMSELVES TO REST.
Subject(s): STORMS; TREES;
I saw three trees against a stormy sky,
Three straining poplars caught in terror's grip;
Their trunks all bent as if they sought to fly
Some enemy which scourged them with its whip.
Their tossing branches seemed to beckon aid,
Their naked, writhing bodies shook with fright;
Their helpless horror and vain efforts made
A vivid vision at the gates of night.
And then I heard the wind-wolves in the air,
Insatiate, mad, eternal in their quest,
Pounce down upon the rooted quarry there
Then pass on, whining, to the leaden west,
To leave their helpless victims, torn and bare,
In solitude to moan themselves to rest.



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