Suddenly, I was stopped by a quiet song .Somebody stood, swaying slowly on the road, In the darkest shadow by a puddle, And low above it a small tree grew .It might’ve been a wild cherry tree .He kept singing, watching the puddle fill .I dragged the pine through the water, And with my other hand steadied my sack, Where a bottle of red vino dangled .He didn’t move, but kept on singing .Should I have stopped there And joined his singing? .Had he found The one happy tree? .No one knows where it grows– Or what it looks like .And who is allowed to recognize it? .I never stood under it, Even to wait for rain to pass Or watch between the drops The silent froth appear .Swaying, he kept on singing .Otherwise, he would have fallen And the rain stopped .He danced his own rain Under that tree .I can’t do such things .Perhaps it was a wolf? . Oleh Lysheha
About This Quote

This poem is a famous one from the beloved American poet Walt Whitman. In this poem, he uses the metaphor of a tree as a symbol for life. The tree represents life as a living thing. It is something that grows and develops.

And, it can even sway in the wind, much like how people sway in response to the things around them. It is something that has its own form and can be identified with a specific species of tree, much like the way a person can be identified with their own species of human.

Source: The Selected Poems

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  1. Suddenly, I was stopped by a quiet song .Somebody stood, swaying slowly on the road, In the darkest shadow by a puddle, And low above it a small tree grew .It might’ve been a wild cherry tree .He kept singing, watching the puddle fill .I...
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