--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Canst thou prophesy, thou little tree…" description: "\"Canst thou prophesy, thou little tree, What the glory of thy boughs shall be?\" — Lucy Larcom" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/lucy-larcom-9021_glory_canst-thou-prophesy-thou-little-tree-wha_2689466.jpg" --- # Canst thou prophesy, thou little tree, What the glory of… ![“Canst thou prophesy, thou little tree, What the glory of thy boughs shall be?” quote by Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/lucy-larcom-9021_glory_canst-thou-prophesy-thou-little-tree-wha_2689466.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/lucy-larcom-9021_glory_canst-thou-prophesy-thou-little-tree-wha_2689466.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/02b/lucy-larcom-9021_glory_canst-thou-prophesy-thou-little-tree-wha_2689466.jpg) > “Canst thou prophesy, thou little tree, What the glory of thy boughs shall be?” [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Asks a tree to predict its future glory, using a metaphor of prophetic inquiry. **In simple terms:** Can a tree foretell its future splendor? Key Takeaway Future potential is uncertain and poetic. Themes nature prophecy growth hope Mood reflective inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - gardening - literary analysis - personal development Key Concepts environmental reflection creative writing Questions to Reflect On - What does the tree symbolize for you? - How can you nurture your own potential? 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Tanno Spiritwalker Kimloc”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-erikson/a-book-of-prophesy-opens-the-doors-you-need-a-second-book-to-close-it/) [Steven Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-erikson/) > [There are two processes which we adopt consciously or unconsciously when we try to prophesy. We can seek a period in the past whose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-are-two-processes-which-we-adopt-consciously-or-unconsciously/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Fiction has this special power. It has a power to clarify, to galvanize, to prophesy, and warn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-h-winters/fiction-has-this-special-power-it-has-a-power-to-clarify-to-galvanize/) [Ben H. Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-h-winters/) > [“ACT21.9 And the same man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/act21-9-and-the-same-man-had-four-daughters-virgins-which-did-prophesy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Lucy Larcom > [O Mariner-soul, Thy quest is but begun, There are new worlds Forever to be won.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/o-mariner-soul-thy-quest-is-but-begun-there-are-new-worlds-forever-to/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [A tattered copy of Johnson's large Dictionary was a great delight to me, on account of the specimens of English versifications which I found…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/a-tattered-copy-of-johnson-s-large-dictionary-was-a-great-delight-to/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [We were not meant to mask ourselves before our fellow-beings, but to be, through our human forms, true and clear utterances of the spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/we-were-not-meant-to-mask-ourselves-before-our-fellow-beings-but-to/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [The peach-bud glows, the wild bee hums, and wind-flowers wave in graceful gladness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/the-peach-bud-glows-the-wild-bee-hums-and-wind-flowers-wave-in/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [I don't own an inch of land, but all I see is mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/i-don-t-own-an-inch-of-land-but-all-i-see-is-mine/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/if-the-world-seems-cold-to-you-kindle-fires-to-warm-it/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [I never thought that the possession of money would make me feel rich: it often does seem to have an opposite effect. But then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/i-never-thought-that-the-possession-of-money-would-make-me-feel-rich/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [Whether rich or poor, a home is not a home unless the roots of love are ever striking deeper through the crust of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/whether-rich-or-poor-a-home-is-not-a-home-unless-the-roots-of-love/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [The New Hampshire girls who came to Lowell were descendants of the sturdy backwoodsmen who settled that State scarcely a hundred years before… They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/the-new-hampshire-girls-who-came-to-lowell-were-descendants-of-the/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [The religion of our fathers overhung us children like the shadow of a mighty tree against the trunk of which we rested, while we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/the-religion-of-our-fathers-overhung-us-children-like-the-shadow-of-a/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [These blossoms, gathered in familiar paths, With dear companions now passed out of sight, Shall not be laid upon their graves. They live, Since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/these-blossoms-gathered-in-familiar-paths-with-dear-companions-now/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [The curse of covetousness is that it destroys manhood by substituting money for character.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/the-curse-of-covetousness-is-that-it-destroys-manhood-by-substituting/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [Rich or poor, every child comes into the world with some imperative need of its own, which shapes its individuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/rich-or-poor-every-child-comes-into-the-world-with-some-imperative/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [If an apple blossom or a ripe apple could tell its own story, it would be, still more than its own, the story of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/if-an-apple-blossom-or-a-ripe-apple-could-tell-its-own-story-it-would/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [There is something in the place where we were born that holds us always by the heart-strings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/there-is-something-in-the-place-where-we-were-born-that-holds-us/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) [Explore all 76 Lucy Larcom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) ## More Glory quotes > [Her dignity consists in being unknown to the world; her glory is in the esteem of her husband; her pleasures in the happiness of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/her-dignity-consists-in-being-unknown-to-the-world-her-glory-is-in/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Some people say that 'Drag Race' is about glory and immortalizing yourself in the Hall of Fame. For me, it's about shaking RuPaul down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trixie-mattel/some-people-say-that-drag-race-is-about-glory-and-immortalizing/) [Trixie Mattel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trixie-mattel/) > [God always gets the glory when Jesus comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/god-always-gets-the-glory-when-jesus-comes/) [Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/) > [Whoever does not seek the cross of Christ doesn't seek the glory of Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-the-cross/whoever-does-not-seek-the-cross-of-christ-doesn-t-seek-the-glory-of/) [John of the Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-the-cross/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [The work, the work, the work. This is what the business is all about. This is the fun, the glory, the pleasure. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-dusenberry/the-work-the-work-the-work-this-is-what-the-business-is-all-about/) [Phil Dusenberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-dusenberry/) > [It is sure that those are most desirous of honour or glory who cry out loudest of its abuse and the vanity of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baruch-spinoza/it-is-sure-that-those-are-most-desirous-of-honour-or-glory-who-cry/) [Baruch Spinoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baruch-spinoza/) > [There is so much temptation to hold on to my career even more now. To try to micromanage and dictate every little aspect. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-lin/there-is-so-much-temptation-to-hold-on-to-my-career-even-more-now-to/) [Jeremy Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-lin/) > [You know, I often thought that the gangster and the artist are the same in the eyes of the masses. 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