Take Shelter
Tree Tag #1972 on Baylor's Sustainability Map
By Koltin Sieracki for Dr. Joshua King's ENG 2301: British Literature class, Fall 2025
This reflection is part of a series of “Tree Stories” by Baylor students that take root in their observations about a tree on campus, branch into connections between their tree and their experiences and education, and leaf out into a creative response to the tree.
Welcome
Welcome to take shelter. I have spent quite a bit of time observing the tree throughout my time at Baylor. The main thought I would like you to consider while reading this paper is how much trees have an impact on our lives, from literally giving us oxygen to breathe, providing us with a place to live and even the small, mundane things that trees play a part in; they are important to our lives.
Roots
My first encounter with the cottonwood tree I picked out for this project was early in my college career. It was a cold January day and it was the first time I was doing a workout on the football practice field and of course I noticed the tallest tree in the area, the cottonwood tree. At the time the branches were bare from the cold but the branches reached out to make a large canopy that was hard to ignore. As I found out about this project, I knew that I was going to write about this tree, and went back and took a harder look at the tree. When I went back, again the size of the tree was the first thing that stood out, the top of the tree is far higher than others in the area, this was interesting as I did research I found that cottonwood trees were used to spot water when colonists were moving across the country as they are usually tall, and easy to spot because of their light grey coloration and are commonly found near bodies of water. The Brazos river flows right next to our practice facility, and it made me think, if this tree in particular had ever been a sign of hope for early settlers finding water to camp by. This was a thought that stuck with me because so often do we take trees for granted, but for most of human history trees have been vital to our survival and they still are but I believe its not something that crosses our minds as much as it did during those times.
Branches
My very first spring at Baylor our practice would take place during the afternoon, the hottest part of the day usually getting too 90F-100F . Everyday during practice we have a period late in practice where we run a competition drill on the defensive field, the very same field the cottonwood tree stands over, and everyday I would find appreciation for the tall tree that would give us shade during one of the hardest parts of practice. That little bit of shade often times gave me relief during an otherwise grueling part of my day. To this day I often see that tree and relate it to that little bit of relief I would find in its shade when everything else was chaos. in William Wordsworth, "When, to the attractions of the busy world" I saw a line that perfectly represents exactly how the tall cottonwood tree provides for me “for I found, beneath the roof Of that perennial shade, a cloistral place Of refuge.” While this is quite a literal representation of what the cottonwood tree does for me. This line encapsulates what a tree can do for people around the world. Trees are an example of hope and refuge for many people, from providing shelter to warmth trees are a thing of hope. Every time I found the trees shade I would find more energy to keep trudging along through the hard parts of practice. Even when we switched to morning practice and the shade was not needed anymore I still found myself looking up at that tree while going through drills and looking back to that time to find inspiration to keep moving forward.
Leaves
Introduction
In my creative response, I will be reflecting on the poem William Wordsworth, "When, to the attractions of the busy world" in the poem the author reflects how important the tree is him. It speaks to the peace we can find in nature. That is the approach I will take in my creative response. In the poem he talks about the comfort he finds in the tree grove I will be exploring a similar thought as most of the time that I have spent looking at this tree has been to find a small moment of comfort in a time that is otherwise a hard part of my day. Like the author I also find that nature is comforting to sit and enjoy and hopefully will be able to convey that through the reflections of my tree. Through the poem I write I hope to convey this message.
Creative Response
Works Cited
“When to the Attractions of the Busy World by William Wordsworth.” Poetry.com, 2023, www.poetry.com/poem/42475/when-to-the-attractions-of-the-busy-world. Accessed 9 Dec. 2025.