A Series of Poems on How Trees Wear Snow
How an Apple Tree Wears Snow
Bearing a heavy weight is familiar,
For my fruit can weigh me down.
Thus, when the snow flies,
I wear it like a crown.
My strong branches do not droop.
Or even sway in strong winds.
They stay stately and upright,
No matter when bad weather begins.
Holding several inches of snow up on my branches
Is not a feat for me.
There it stays, stacks of flakes,
I wear it proudly, can’t you see?
While the other trees bend down
In the heaviest of snow,
You’ll notice that I’m upright,
As all fruit trees grow.
How a Cedar Wears Snow
My branches called boughs
Are bending low, in a frown
Snow came fast, wet, and heavy
Making my boughs bow down
Leaning over, I look sad
Under the weight of the snow.
My scales are another type of
Coniferous difference, don’t you know?
Catching the frozen precipitation
On my tiniest scale
Outlining my bough to the very tip
Leaving human artwork to pale.
It is the winter when I,
A great Cedar can bend
And not break.
Still standing guard to lend
The Northern Forest, I call home,
To look like a child’s winter snow dome.
How a Birch Wears Snow
I’m tall and slender
With white bark that
Peels.
My leaves have fallen,
Leaving me naked and
Cold.
In the winter, I am swayed
Easily by the wind and
Snow.
When the snow comes fast
And is wet and heavy, I
Bend.
Dipping my highest branches
Low to the ground, laden by
Weight.
It appears as if I’m bowing.
But I’m not. My stiff limbs
Hurt.
The snow piles up on me
Making my limbs and twigs
Fragile.
I hope I don’t succumb
To the extra wet weight and
Break.
Spring will come if I survive
The winter storms and
Cold.
I’ll make catkins to
Spread my seed, blown by the
Wind.
Just like the snow has
Covered me
Now.
I’ll cover the ground with
My precious seeds and
Grow.
New birch for new seasons
Of growth after snow has bent
Me.
Bearing a heavy weight is familiar,
For my fruit can weigh me down.
Thus, when the snow flies,
I wear it like a crown.
My strong branches do not droop.
Or even sway in strong winds.
They stay stately and upright,
No matter when bad weather begins.
Holding several inches of snow up on my branches
Is not a feat for me.
There it stays, stacks of flakes,
I wear it proudly, can’t you see?
While the other trees bend down
In the heaviest of snow,
You’ll notice that I’m upright,
As all fruit trees grow.
How a Cedar Wears Snow
My branches called boughs
Are bending low, in a frown
Snow came fast, wet, and heavy
Making my boughs bow down
Leaning over, I look sad
Under the weight of the snow.
My scales are another type of
Coniferous difference, don’t you know?
Catching the frozen precipitation
On my tiniest scale
Outlining my bough to the very tip
Leaving human artwork to pale.
It is the winter when I,
A great Cedar can bend
And not break.
Still standing guard to lend
The Northern Forest, I call home,
To look like a child’s winter snow dome.
How a Birch Wears Snow
I’m tall and slender
With white bark that
Peels.
My leaves have fallen,
Leaving me naked and
Cold.
In the winter, I am swayed
Easily by the wind and
Snow.
When the snow comes fast
And is wet and heavy, I
Bend.
Dipping my highest branches
Low to the ground, laden by
Weight.
It appears as if I’m bowing.
But I’m not. My stiff limbs
Hurt.
The snow piles up on me
Making my limbs and twigs
Fragile.
I hope I don’t succumb
To the extra wet weight and
Break.
Spring will come if I survive
The winter storms and
Cold.
I’ll make catkins to
Spread my seed, blown by the
Wind.
Just like the snow has
Covered me
Now.
I’ll cover the ground with
My precious seeds and
Grow.
New birch for new seasons
Of growth after snow has bent
Me.
This poem is copyright (©) Carol Labuzzetta 2024
About the Writer
Carol Labuzzetta
Carol is a former pediatric nurse and environmental educator. She began writing poetry after she led a writer’s circle for third-grade students for six years. Her inspiration is nature, color, and travel. She published a chapbook of poetry in 2022 and is now working on an ekphrastic nature poetry anthology for middle-grade students. Mother to adult three sons, she lives in the Wisconsin woods with her husband, cat, and dog.