A Live-Oak Leaf

Category: Poetry
How marvellous this bit of green
I hold, and soon shall throw away!
Its subtile veins, its vivid sheen,
Seem fragment of a god's array.

In all the hidden toil of earth,
Which is the more laborious part -
To rear the oak's enormous girth,
Or shape its leaves with poignant art?

Available translations:

English (Original)