--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Woodman, spare that tree! Touch not a…" description: "\"Woodman, spare that tree! Touch not a single bough! In youth it sheltered me, And I'll protect it now.\" — George Pope Morris" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24d/george-pope-morris-41137_forests-and-trees_woodman-spare-that-tree-touch-not-a-sing_1961979.jpg" --- # Woodman, spare that tree! Touch not a single bough! In… ![“Woodman, spare that tree! Touch not a single bough! In youth it sheltered me, And I'll protect it now.” quote by George Pope Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24d/george-pope-morris-41137_forests-and-trees_woodman-spare-that-tree-touch-not-a-sing_1961979.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24d/george-pope-morris-41137_forests-and-trees_woodman-spare-that-tree-touch-not-a-sing_1961979.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24d/george-pope-morris-41137_forests-and-trees_woodman-spare-that-tree-touch-not-a-sing_1961979.jpg) > “Woodman, spare that tree! Touch not a single bough! In youth it sheltered me, And I'll protect it now.” [George Pope Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pope-morris/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A plea to protect a cherished tree that provided shelter in youth. **In simple terms:** Protect what once protected you. Key Takeaway Guard your foundations. Themes environment nostalgia protection Mood reflective protective Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - urban development - personal heritage - conservation Key Concepts nature memory responsibility Questions to Reflect On - What personal “trees” have you protected? - How can you honor past shelters today? A Different Perspective May romanticize nature without addressing broader ecological issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Forests and trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests-and-trees/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Inspiring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspiring/) [Protect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protect/) [Sheltered](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sheltered/) [Spare Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spare-tree-3243782/) [Spares](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spares/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) [Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woodman-636221/) [Woodman Spare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/woodman-spare-3243781/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“The Tin Woodman knew very well he had no heart, and therefore he took great care never to be cruel or unkind to anything.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-frank-baum/the-tin-woodman-knew-very-well-he-had-no-heart-and-therefore-he-took-2/) [L. Frank Baum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-frank-baum/) > [“Her excess of vitality was generous and singular, Woodman chased away the melancholia, decanting stories and seeing the other side of things, as if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giuseppe-casetti/her-excess-of-vitality-was-generous-and-singular-woodman-chased-away/) [Giuseppe Casetti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giuseppe-casetti/) > [The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/the-tree-is-a-slow-enduring-force-straining-to-win-the-sky/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [When we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-we-have-learned-how-to-listen-to-trees-then-the-brevity-and-the/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The forests are the flag's of Nature. They appeal to all and awaken inspiring universal feelings. Enter the forest and the boundaries of nations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enos-mills/the-forests-are-the-flag-s-of-nature-they-appeal-to-all-and-awaken/) [Enos Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enos-mills/) > [Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot run away; and if they could, they would still be destroyed-chased and hunted down as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/any-fool-can-destroy-trees-they-cannot-run-away-and-if-they-could/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Man has been endowed with reason, with the power to create, so that he can add to what he's been given. But up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/man-has-been-endowed-with-reason-with-the-power-to-create-so-that-he/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees as an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/sometimes-you-can-t-see-the-wood-for-the-trees-as-an-artist/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [Let soldiers on manoeuvres plant trees. Give police and criminals a shovel and a thousand seedlings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wright/let-soldiers-on-manoeuvres-plant-trees-give-police-and-criminals-a/) [John Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wright/) > [To the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/to-the-eyes-of-the-man-of-imagination-nature-is-imagination-itself/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beechtree, or a yellow birch, or an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-frequently-tramped-eight-or-ten-miles-through-the-deepest-snow-to/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/for-me-trees-have-always-been-the-most-penetrating-preachers/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Forests are the lungs of our land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/forests-are-the-lungs-of-our-land/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [Each generation of humanity takes the earth as trustees... We ought to bequeath to posterity as many forests and orchards as we have exhausted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-sterling-morton/each-generation-of-humanity-takes-the-earth-as-trustees-we-ought-to/) [Julius Sterling Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-sterling-morton/) > [The battle we have fought, and are still fighting, for the forests is a part of the eternal conflict between right and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/the-battle-we-have-fought-and-are-still-fighting-for-the-forests-is-a-2/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) ## More by George Pope Morris > [Near the lake where drooped the willow, Long time ago!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pope-morris/near-the-lake-where-drooped-the-willow-long-time-ago/) [George Pope Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pope-morris/) > [A man of learning who makes no use of what he knows, is like a cloud which gives no rain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pope-morris/a-man-of-learning-who-makes-no-use-of-what-he-knows-is-like-a-cloud/) [George Pope Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pope-morris/) > [The union of lakes--the union of lands-- The union of States none can sever-- The union of hearts--the union of hands-- And the flag…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pope-morris/the-union-of-lakes-the-union-of-lands-the-union-of-states-none-can/) [George Pope Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pope-morris/) > [You desire to be learned, wealthy, and great, without labor; it is one of the follies still extant in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pope-morris/you-desire-to-be-learned-wealthy-and-great-without-labor-it-is-one-of/) [George Pope Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pope-morris/) > [We esteem in the world those who do not merit our esteem, and neglect persons of true worth; but the world is like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pope-morris/we-esteem-in-the-world-those-who-do-not-merit-our-esteem-and-neglect/) [George Pope Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pope-morris/) > [It made and preserves us a nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pope-morris/it-made-and-preserves-us-a-nation/) [George Pope Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pope-morris/) > [Law has been called a bottomless pit, not so much because of its depth, as that its windings are so obscure nobody can see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pope-morris/law-has-been-called-a-bottomless-pit-not-so-much-because-of-its-depth/) [George Pope Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pope-morris/) > [It appears to me that strong sense and acute sensibility together constitute genius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pope-morris/it-appears-to-me-that-strong-sense-and-acute-sensibility-together/) [George Pope Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pope-morris/) > [A laughing fool ... seems born for nothing but to show his teeth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-pope-morris/a-laughing-fool-seems-born-for-nothing-but-to-show-his-teeth/) [George Pope Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pope-morris/) [Explore all 10 George Pope Morris quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-pope-morris/) ## More Forests and trees quotes > [Let soldiers on manoeuvres plant trees. Give police and criminals a shovel and a thousand seedlings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wright/let-soldiers-on-manoeuvres-plant-trees-give-police-and-criminals-a/) [John Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wright/) > [Each generation of humanity takes the earth as trustees... We ought to bequeath to posterity as many forests and orchards as we have exhausted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-sterling-morton/each-generation-of-humanity-takes-the-earth-as-trustees-we-ought-to/) [Julius Sterling Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-sterling-morton/) > [Forests are the lungs of our land…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/forests-are-the-lungs-of-our-land/) [Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/) > [For me, trees have always been the most penetrating preachers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/for-me-trees-have-always-been-the-most-penetrating-preachers/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [I frequently tramped eight or ten miles through the deepest snow to keep an appointment with a beechtree, or a yellow birch, or an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-frequently-tramped-eight-or-ten-miles-through-the-deepest-snow-to/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [To the eyes of the man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/to-the-eyes-of-the-man-of-imagination-nature-is-imagination-itself/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [Sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees as an artist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/sometimes-you-can-t-see-the-wood-for-the-trees-as-an-artist/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [Man has been endowed with reason, with the power to create, so that he can add to what he's been given. But up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-chekhov/man-has-been-endowed-with-reason-with-the-power-to-create-so-that-he/) [Anton Chekhov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-chekhov/) > [Any fool can destroy trees. They cannot run away; and if they could, they would still be destroyed-chased and hunted down as long as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/any-fool-can-destroy-trees-they-cannot-run-away-and-if-they-could/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [The forests are the flag's of Nature. They appeal to all and awaken inspiring universal feelings. Enter the forest and the boundaries of nations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enos-mills/the-forests-are-the-flag-s-of-nature-they-appeal-to-all-and-awaken/) [Enos Mills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enos-mills/) > [When we have learned how to listen to trees, then the brevity and the quickness and the childlike hastiness of our thoughts achieve an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/when-we-have-learned-how-to-listen-to-trees-then-the-brevity-and-the/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The tree is a slow, enduring force straining to win the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/the-tree-is-a-slow-enduring-force-straining-to-win-the-sky/) [Antoine de Saint-Exupery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/) > [The battle we have fought, and are still fighting, for the forests is a part of the eternal conflict between right and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/the-battle-we-have-fought-and-are-still-fighting-for-the-forests-is-a-2/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [Tree at my window, window tree, My sash is lowered when night comes on; But let there never be curtain drawn Between you and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/tree-at-my-window-window-tree-my-sash-is-lowered-when-night-comes-on/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [The mountains are fountains of men as well as of rivers, of glaciers, of fertile soil. The great poets, philosophers, prophets, able men whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/the-mountains-are-fountains-of-men-as-well-as-of-rivers-of-glaciers/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) [Browse all 41 Forests and trees quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forests-and-trees/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Woodman, spare that tree! Touch not a single bough! 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