Sycamore Trees

There's a large, old cherry tree in full blossom in the courtyard where I work. This poem reminds me of that setting. It's a very grey courtyard, surrounded on three sides by concrete block, the ground is totally tarmacced, but right in the middle of this sterile and physically sad-looking environment, straight out of this concrete (or so it seems)- grows this incredibly beautifully shaped tree totally covered with delicate blossoms. I don't know why it affects me so much, but every morning it does. I'll be sorry to see the blossoms go.

I was talking with a friend about Irish poetry. And he said that the reason the Irish have held on to romanticism (in poetry at least) much more obviously than the Americans and British is because they never really had a full scale industrial revolution. I thought that was interesting.
I always just attributed it to their more mystical and romantic souls. But maybe they held on to those too, because their nation never hosted a full scale industrial revolution.

Thanks for posting this.

It looks like Ireland is in a major state of change at the moment, however.

By the way, the journal "Studies" is published by Irish Jesuits.

Check out:

www.studiesirishreview.com