The flames half lit the cavernous mystery
Of the over-arching elm that loomed profound
And mountainous above us, from the ground
Soaring to midnight stars majestically,
As, under the shelter of that ageless tree
In a rapt dreaming circle we lay around
The crackling faggots, listening to the sound
Of old words moving in new harmony.

And as you read before our wondering eyes
Arose another tree of mighty girth,
Crested with stars though rooted to the earth,
Its heavy-foliaged branches lit with gleams
Of ruddy firelight and the light of dreams,
Soaring immortal to eternal skies.