The Heart of The Tree

The Heart of the Tree
by Henry Cuyler Bunner
The Heart of the Tree by the American poet and novelist

Henry Cuyler Bunner is a fine piece of poetry with a simple
theme and a simpler structure. The poem was originally
published in 1912.
Planting a tree is always a great work for the mankind. But, the
poet has found out new ways to look at the plants and
plantation. In his poem The Heart of the Tree he glorifies the
act further, shows how a tree helps life on earth and says that
it has a direct connection to a nation’s growth.
All the three stanzas of the poem The Heart of the Tree starts
with a refrain with the poet asking what the man actually
plants who plants a tree. Then he chooses to reply it by himself
and shows what a tree means to the humankind and to the
nature, thus proving how great that man is.
In Short
The poem begins with the poet asking, “What does he plant
who plants a tree?”
By asking that question Bunner suggests that a tree planter
actually plants a lot more than just a tree.
Then the poet goes on to answer this by himself listing all good
things the tree brings to this planet.
By planting a tree the man plays an important role not only in
maintaining the holistic beauty of nature but also in making
this world a better living place for the future generations. The
man also contributes to the nation’s growth by planting a tree.
The man who plants a tree has got a bigger heart — the heart
of the tree.
The Heart of the Tree: Line by line Explanation

First Stanza
What does he plant who plants a tree?
He plants a friend of sun and sky;
The poem opens with the refrain which asks “What does he
plant who plants a tree?” and that sets the tone for the entire
poem. We instantly realize that the poet is going to explain the
usefulness of planting a tree. However, the poet himself
answers by stating that the man plants a friend of sun and sky
by planting a tree.
A plant grows upwards and aims to reach the sun and the sky.
So it is as if the sun and the sky get a new friend in a tree.
Secondly, the tree needs sunlight and air to survive. And
finally, the trees seem to absorb the heat and save the earth
from the scorching sun, giving an implication that the sun
becomes friendly in the presence of the trees.
He plants the flag of breezes free;
The shaft of beauty towering high;
The speaker now adds that the man plants a flag that flies
freely in the mild breeze. The poet here compares the leafy
branches of the tree to a flag and the stem to the beautiful
shaft (pole) of the flag that stands tall.
He plants a home to heaven anigh;
For song and mother-croon of bird
By planting a tree the man plants a home for the sweet singing
birds high in the sky, near the heaven. So, he keeps the earth
habitable for birds and helps in maintaining the eco-system.
In hushed and happy twilight heard—
The treble of heaven’s harmony—
These things he plants who plants a tree.
In quiet and happy twilight we can hear those birds chirping
which is harmonious to heaven’s own tunes.
In the entire first stanza of The Heart of the Tree, the poet
accentuates the importance of trees in maintaining the holistic
beauty of nature. Moreover, the use of words like ‘heaven
anigh’, ‘heaven’s harmony’ and ‘towering high’ is aimed at
giving an impression that the work of planting a tree is indeed
a heavenly and glorious deed.
The finishing line of the stanza forms a logical whole with the
opening line, one asking a question and the other completing
the answer.
Second Stanza
He plants cool shade and tender rain,
So, the poet repeats the question to begin a new stanza and
attempts to answer again in the subsequent lines. The tree
he plants provides us with cool shade and helps in bringing
rain.
And seed and bud of days to be,
And years that fade and flush again;
A tree will produce seed and bud in future. Years will pass
silently but the tree will remain there through its seeds
producing new trees.
He plants the glory of the plain;
He plants the forest’s heritage;
Trees are the main elements that make a plain area green
and beautiful. So the poet describes trees as ‘the glory of the
plain’. Moreover, today’s single tree may turn into a forest
someday. So by planting a tree now the man plants a ‘forest’s
heritage’.
The harvest of a coming age;
The joy that unborn eyes shall see—
These things he plants who plants a tree.
The speaker mentions that planting a tree today would give
fruits in coming days. Our next generations would be delighted
seeing so much vegetation and reap its benefits. So all the
credit goes to the man who plants a tree.
In this stanza of the poem The Heart of the Tree the poet
stresses on the importance of planting a tree for making this
earth a better living place for future generations.
Third stanza
He plants in sap and leaf and wood,
In love of home and loyalty
And far-cast thought of civic good—
His blessings on the neighbourhood,
By planting a tree the man shows his love and loyalty for this
earth (his home), his sense of civic duty and his blessings on
the neighbourhood. All these are reflected in the ‘sap and leaf
and wood’, in every cell of the tree.
Who in the hollow of His hand
Holds all the growth of all our land—
A nation’s growth from sea to sea
Stirs in his heart who plants a tree.
By planting a tree the man directly or indirectly contributes to
the nation’s growth. When a tree is planted, it sets in motion
the progress of a nation from sea to sea. And all these start
from the progressive thought in the man’s heart who plants a
tree.
The capitalization in ‘His’ indicates that the man who plants a
tree is all-powerful and the destiny-maker of a nation.
This last line is very important as it talks about the man’s heart,
his feelings, dreams and wishes behind planting the tree. This
also leads to the poem’s title ‘The Heart of the Tree’.
Thus the poet Henry Cuyler Bunner ends up composing an
uncommon piece of poetry in ‘The Heart of the Tree’ out of a
common and cliché topic – the usefulness of planting a tree.

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The Heart of the Tree

by Henry Cuyler Bunner

The Heart of the Tree by the American poet and novelist

The Heart of the Tree: Line by line Explanation

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