The Cenotaph of Joyce Kilmer

Posted on 2023-08-21 by Bartholomew Barker

The deer were startled as I cruised through Elmwood Cemetery in North Brunswick, New Jersey, though they were no more startled than I. Elmwood is a very urban cemetery and I did not expect to see five deer browsing the lush green vegetation. My little hybrid had turned off its internal combustion engine so the only noise was the four tires on a somewhat overgrown gravel path as I looked for Joyce Kilmer‘s cenotaph.

He was killed in France while engaged in World War I so his body is buried there but his name was added to the main stone of the family plot, thus my visit to his cenotaph instead of his grave.

Kilmer is primarily remembered today for Trees which is one of those rare poems that almost every English-speaker knows. Though it’s really only the first and last stanzas that are remembered. I love the poem for its brevity, the wonderful anthropomorphic images and it’s all about trees which I agree I’ve never seen a poem as beautiful as.

He loses me a little with the final line but that’s because I’m atheist. Of course, but only natural selection can make a tree would break the iambic tetrameter and I can still enjoy a poem even if I disagree with its thesis.

It’s been more than hundred years since it was first published and I’m sure this simple little poem will be remembered, maybe even revered, long after we’ve chopped down and burned the last of its subjects.

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About Bartholomew Barker

Bartholomew Barker is an organizer of Living Poetry, a collection of poets in the Triangle region of North Carolina where he has hosted a monthly feedback workshop for more than decade. His first poetry collection, Wednesday Night Regular, written in and about strip clubs, was published in 2013. His second, Milkshakes and Chilidogs, a chapbook of food inspired poetry was served in 2017. He was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in 2021. Born and raised in Ohio, studied in Chicago, he worked in Connecticut for nearly twenty years before moving to Hillsborough where he lives and writes poetry.
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10 Responses to The Cenotaph of Joyce Kilmer

  1. Michele Lee's avatar Michele Lee says:
    2023-08-21 at 21:12

    It is a wonderful poem that is a joy to recite. 🌳 Thank you for taking us on your travels. Your last sentence gives us something to think (deeply) about.

    Liked by 2 people

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  2. JeanMarie's avatar JeanMarie says:
    2023-08-21 at 22:55

    I wonder if his parents knew they gave him a girl name,

    Liked by 1 person

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  4. berniebell1955's avatar berniebell1955 says:
    2023-08-23 at 05:45

    We’re doing our best!

    Liked by 1 person

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  5. Rosie's avatar Rosie says:
    2023-09-01 at 17:37

    I’m from Germany and didn’t know Joyce Kilmer and this wonderful poem. But now I’ve read it. Thank you for this interesting article.
    I wish you all the best.
    Greetings from the beautiful Rhine-Highlands / Germany…
    Rosie

    Liked by 1 person

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