Douglas Malloch (1877-1938), known as the "Lumbermen's Poet," compares good men to good timber in this famous metaphorical poem. The message of this poem is that people, like trees, grow and reach their true potential by overcoming adversity. It is only through struggles, like a tree fighting through forest growth to reach the sun, that we grow and discover our true potential. This is a poem that addresses the law of nature. No one can go against it. The poet has used metaphorical language to depict the similarities between man and other creations of nature. Nature is the supreme power which decides man's destiny.