A Live-Oak Leaf (1911)
by Clark Ashton Smith
18964A Live-Oak Leaf1911Clark Ashton Smith

How marvellous this bit of green
  I hold, and soon shall throw away!
Its subtle veins, its vivid sheen,
  Seem fragments 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?

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.


The longest-living author of this work died in 1961, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 62 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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