- Wild Cherry in our woods
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.
Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.
And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.
— A.E. Housman
I have always found special meaning in this poem. However this year, with my own little encounter with mortality at the beginning of the year, I found particular pleasure in seeing the wild cherries in our woods come into bloom. These are not the Black Cherry (Prunus serotina) that are so common in Maryland woods, but the true European Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) that was the original source of cultivated cherries we buy in the markets. The fruits are small but edible and thoroughly delectable to birds. If you never looked up to see the blossoms, you would be much surprised by the rain of petals later this month and then fruit that follows in May and June.
Wild Cherry branches
It is hard for my camera to get the full perspective of how these trees stand out in the woods even before the dogwood come into bloom. But I think that A.E. Housman had it exactly right. They are reason enough to walk the woods this time of year — and count one’s blessings to be able to do so.
*Love* the poem. We’re still a while away from cherries, so for now we’ll enjoy them vicariously through your post:-)