Kilmer, Joyce (1886-1918), an American author, wrote many poems and essays, but is remembered for one short poem, “Trees.” The poem first appeared in Poetry Magazine in 1913 and was the title poem in Kilmer’s collection Trees and Other Poems (1914). Some people have objected to the poem’s sentimentality and mixed metaphors, but the poem has remained popular.
Alfred Joyce Kilmer was born on Dec. 6, 1886, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. He wrote two other collections of poetry and edited an anthology of Roman Catholic poets. On July 30, 1918, he was killed in action while serving with the U.S. Army in France during World War I.
