In Pilgrim at Tinker Creek Anne Dillard writes that her friend believes the word sycamore to be the most beatiful word in the English language. I’m not sure I have a ranking, but it would be hard to argue against Anne’s friend. One interesting note about the sycamore tree is that there is a family of sycamores, Plantanus, but there are a few trees that aren’t of that family which are referred to as sycamores. Notably, the biblical “sycamore” is actually a species of fig tree Ficus sycomorus. Another tree, commonly known as the American Sycamore, is actually a maple tree, Acer pseudoplatanus. While we’re on scientific names I’d like to nominate the rainbow trout for having the most beautiful name: Onchorhynchus mykiss.

One of my favorite podcast episodes ever is from John Green’s podcast The Anthropocene Reviewed. The podcast reviews pretty much anything in the most John Green way possible. John finds a way to make you feel emotional about scratch and sniff stickers. It is an amazing podcast and his review of sycamore trees is the perfect reflection of how I feel so many times in my life. He describes the throbbing despair that always hangs at the edge of vision, like a small unfocused blur (credit to Philip Larkin). He does this by introducing his “little game” that he plays called “What’s Even the Point?“. I feel this at my core. So often I get this question cycling in my mind and feel my stomach sink. I listen to music to push the thought away. John ends up finding meaning in the question. He believes that beauty is the point, or at least part of it, and discovers this in the shade of a large sycamore tree.

Today I am in the shade of the sycamore, trying to find the point of anything. I know I will, but sometimes the shade is so very dark.

Anthony Miller

Software engineer