What do we plant when we plant the tree?
We plant the ship which will cross the sea.
We plant the mast to carry the sails;
We plant the planks to withstand the gales–
The keel, the keelson, the beam, the knee;
We plant the ship when we plant the tree.
What do we plant when we plant the tree?
We plant the houses for you and me.
We plant the rafters, the shingles, the floors,
We plant the studding, the lath, the doors,
The beams and siding, all parts that be;
We plant the house when we plant the tree.
What do we plant when we plant the tree?
A thousand things that we daily see;
We plant the spire that out-towers the crag,
We plant the staff for our country’s flag,
We plant the shade, from the hot sun free;
We plant all these when we plant the tree.
“What Do We Plant?” by Henry Abbey is in the public domain.
This digital page will serve during spring 2026 as a place for ideas about books and libraries, planting and growth.
Books are for use.
Every person has his or her book.
Every book has its reader.
Save the time of the reader.
A library is a growing organism.
S.R. Ranganathan, The Five Laws of Library Science (Madras Library Association, 1931)