1Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
2Is hung with bloom along the bough,
3And stands about the woodland ride
4Wearing white for Eastertide.
5Now, of my threescore years and ten,
6Twenty will not come again,
7And take from seventy springs a score,
8It only leaves me fifty more.
9And since to look at things in bloom
10Fifty springs are little room,
11About the woodlands I will go
12To see the cherry hung with snow.
Loveliest of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.
Now, of my threescore years and ten,
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.
And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
A Shropshire Lad — Check out the popular collection in which "Loveliest of Trees" was published.
Housman's Life and Work — Learn more about Housman in this biography from the Poetry Foundation.
The Invention of Love — Watch a clip from a play by Tom Stoppard, which imagines A. E. Housman visiting the classical underworld.
The Poem Out Loud — Listen to "Loveliest of Trees" read aloud by actor Arthur Darvill.