Poem by Timothy Thomas Fortune
Hear The Music Of The Pines
Hear the music of the pines
Murmuring through the climbing vines,
Sighing through the tree tops high,
Floating upward to the sky,
Then descending where I lie
Hear the music of the pines!
What sweet thoughts the music brings,
What new gladness from it springs
As reclining, in a dream,
Watch I, listless, a sunbeam
Dancing on the silvery stream
What sweet thoughts the music brings!
Hear the music of the pines!
How it 'round my fancy twines
While fragrances of flowers fill
All the pulses of my will
As I, lingering, linger still
Hear the music of the pines!
by Timothy Thomas Fortune (1856-1928).
Born into slavery in Florida, Timothy Thomas Fortune was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. He became an influential journalist and editor, associated with some of the leading black publications of the day. I suspect this poem is a remembrance of native pine trees in Florida. His mention of "the climbing vines" seems to suggest the exuberant plant growth of a warm climate.
The pine trees in the above photo grow on the grounds of the Breathitt Veterinary Diagnostic Lab in Hopkinsville, KY. I didn't examine them closely, but they are probably Eastern white pines (Pinus strobus). These two and their fellow pines around the property boundaries were probably planted in the 1970s around the time that the lab was built.
"The power to recognize trees at a glance without examining their leaves or flowers or fruit as they are seen, for example, from the car-window during a railroad journey, can only be acquired by studying them as they grow under all possible conditions over wide areas of territory. Such an attainment may not have much practical value, but once acquired it gives to the possessor a good deal of pleasure which is denied to less fortunate travelers."
6 comments -- please add yours:
Welcome back to posting! Enjoyed the poem.
Hey G: I just came in from watering... my pines! We have five on the left and three on the right of our big patio. They curve around like two arms to give us shielding from the stronger winds. Our property extends above the general height of the surrounding area so this means alot! My birds are attracted to them for protection as well.
On little walks through the woods__ I always steer for a pine group because each cluster has it's own sacrid daytime surprise. Owl's of WPA seem to like these exclusive needley and extra quiet roosts?
On another note: I regret not being able to get a local recipe your way... I did try!
later, ~(:-_))-kfh
Hi, Jesse. I hope to resume posting here at least occasionally, when time permits. I'm hoping that my life will settle down a little as the summer progresses. Thanks for your note of encouragement. :)
Hi, Kenneth. Thanks for stopping in. That's an interesting thought about the owls. I will have to do some research about what sorts of trees are their favorites.
Our barred owls have favored the 60+ foot deciduous trees; particularly a tall broken maple with a cavity. Unfortunately for us, the crows and bluejays may have rooted the owls from our back woods. :(
The music is one thing, but I also love the perfume of the pines --- that distinctive fragrance when the summer sun warms their needles.
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