This blooming tree grows on the front lawn of my sister’s home in Ohio. Its beauty caught my eyes so I had to write this poem. It is indeed a magnolia tree from all appearances and botanic behaviour. Right away I mused that a poem in the form of an ode would capture the beauty of this flowering magnolia. The magnolia has become the State Tree/Flower for Louisiana and the Mississippi. These trees grow magnificently amid weather peeves. Now you asked why the ode and not an epic poem on this State tree? I have weighed the pros and cons and for this composition the ode is more appropriate for this moment in time. The ode’s majestic and intricate form of lyrical verse have allowed me to portray my feelings, state of mind and perception towards nature’s awesome beauty in this tree the way no epic poem could do. The epic tells a story and depicts characters and actions and magnolia is not about a story but rather its heraldry of spring now that winter has retreated.

“Ode to the Magnolia Tree” takes on the characteristics of the Horatian ode. The Roman poet, Horace perfected this poetic form which consists of a series of uniform stanzas, complex in their metrical system and rhyme scheme. Horatian Odes are characteristically less elaborate and more restrained than Pindaric Odes.

The characteristics of the Horatian ode are found in the “Ode to the Magnolia Tree”. A close examination of its structure shows uniformity of its decimeter stanzas. The verses are written in Iambic Pentameter with a rhyme scheme ababcdecde. Please enjoy as we salute the coming of Spring.