The man with an ax,
The lad with a saw,
Learn numerous facts
Of natural law.
A thing you will see
As you work at your art:
The older the tree,
The greater the heart.

There are sorrow and storm
As the forest grows old;
There are Summers too warm,
There are Winters too cold.
Gray the Autumn may be
And the sun may depart —
But the older the tree,
The greater the heart.

Grow old like the pine
Through the smiles and the tears,
Growing better, like wine,
With the passing of years;
Let them say, if they can,
When from life you depart,
" The older the man,
The greater the heart! "