the silver birch 

it likes to hide 

so as you search 

at eventide 

you find it there with many friends 

playing poker through the night 

 

the common oak 

a wise old man 

an aging folk 

since time began 

grandfathers of the forest they 

speak myth and folklore when they can 

 

the sycamore 

with helicopter seeds 

sets out its store 

among the weeds 

then grows to be big and strong 

from people’s picnics on which it feeds 

 

the horse chestnut 

is the conker tree 

the children’s favourite 

but too spikey 

until they are ready later on 

and why kids were late home for tea 

 

the yew 

is old 

and grew 

so slow 

its age is in millennia 

and battles from the archer’s bow 

 

the hawthorn 

its blossom white 

and at dawn 

as if it snowed all night 

then all too soon the white has gone 

a desperate case of bad stage fright 

 

the conifer 

fir, spruce and pine 

a regular 

likes mead and wine 

to keep it warm in winter then 

comes into homes at Christmas time