Arna Bontemps, "Tree" (1927)
By Arna Bontemps
It grows with the thorn and wormwood
Near the river of life,
This tree,
Whose fickle buds
Bear twelve manner of fruit,
And whose leaves are for an healing
To the nations.
It grows with the bitter wormwood
On either side
The throbbing river of the soul,
This tree,
Whose name is Love.
Published in The Crisis, April 1927