Sonnet XXIX by Helen Joy Davidman

There was a man who found a naked tree
Sleeping in winter woods, and brought her home,
And tended her a monthin charity
Until she woke, and filled his quiet room

With petals like a storm of silver light,
Bursting, blazing, blended all of pearl
And moonshine; he, in wonder and delight,
Patted her magic boughs and said: Good girl.

Thereafter, still obedient to the summer,
The tree worked at her trade, until behold
A summer miracle of red and gold,
Apples of the Hesperides upon her,
Sweeter than Eden and its vanished bowers…
He said: No, no, I only wanted flowers.

From: Davidman, Joy and King, Don W. (ed.), A Naked Tree: Love Sonnets to C. S. Lewis and Other Poems, 2015, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company: Grand Rapids, Michigan, Cambridge, UK, p. 299.
(https://books.google.com.au/books?id=rRGHBwAAQBAJ)

Date: ?1954-1955

By: Helen Joy Davidman (1915-1960)

Tags: 1954, helen joy davidman, poetry, sonnet xxix, there was a man who found a naked tree