How meaningful is the poem to you?

When I am Among the Trees

By Mary Oliver

When I am among the trees,

especially the willows and the honey locust,

equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,

they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,

in which I have goodness, and discernment,

and never hurry through the world

but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves

and call out, “Stay awhile.”

The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,

“and you too have come

into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled

with light, and to shine.”

In an essay, explain your response to Oliver’s poem and how you perceive nature and its relationship to you. For example:

How meaningful is the poem to you?

And how does it relate to her “The Summer Day”?

And how important is the natural environment to you?

And how often to you visit nature?