قصة الكتاب :
In the poem the narrator finds himself walking in the woods. He describes the holiness of nature, proclaiming that \"The groves were God\'s first temples.\" Before man learned to build great architectural wonders, the cathedrals were the branching arms and soaring heights of the trees. He states that it would have been easy to worship in such a place, surrounded by the might of the trees and the sound of the wind to offer perspective. Mankind is weak and frail compared to nature. The narrator wonders why \"Should we, in the world\'s riper years, neglect/God\'s ancient sanctuaries, and adore/Only among the crowd and under roofs/That our frail hands have raised?\" It is at this moment the narrator kneels and offers a hymn to God from the woods. In his prayerful \"hymn\" the narrator reflects that whether man chooses to acknowledge it or not, nature is in continual worship. Because of this God is always to be found in the woods. Birth, death, and resurrection are evidenced in the forest as a testimony to the very nature of God. The narrator is saddened by man\'s lack of concern or attention to God. This lack of concern is evident in the cities where man is protected from the elements that once plagued him. It is with occasional fire, storm, and flood that God manages to get man\'s attention. The narrator asks God to spare him and his family from such terrible circumstances and promises to carry the \"milder majesty\" of the \"calm shades\" of the woods inside his heart forever.