Watercolor illustration of the classic American poem Trees, written in 1913 by Joyce Kilmer.   The nocturnal scene shows a reflecting pond under bright moonlight.   Steps lead from the water to a classical garden with a small figural statue on a pedestal and tall cypress trees frame the deep blue sky. The poem is written in calligraphy in the lower portion.   Both sections are set within lines of metallic gold and deep blue border.

The poem reads as follows:

Joyce Kilmer (1886-1918) was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and was educated at Rutgers College and Columbia University.   In addition to regularly publishing his poetry in literary magazines, he was a prolific essayist.   He worked on the staff of The Standard Dictionary from 1909 to 1912 and then became a writer for the New York Times Sunday Magazine.    He also edited an anthology of Catholic poets.   His most famous poem, Trees was published in the August 1913 issue of Poetry, and the following year was included a book of his poetry, Trees and Other Poems.   He died in action in World War I, which made this poem all the more poignant, and it has been memorized by generations of schoolchildren.