A recently chopped down tree near Lake Merritt in Oakland was given new life this week when someone wrote a passage from Shel Silverstein's The Giving Tree on the stump.

As reported in the New York Times' California Today newsletter, images of the stump were posted to Reddit, where it quickly went viral.

In case you need a reminder, The Giving Tree tells the story of a generous tree that gives everything — its apples, branches, and trunk — to the boy she loves, and that message clearly resonated with some Reddit users, who admitted to getting emotional when they saw photos of the tree stump.

(Phoebe Calef)

Phoebe Calef, who lives near the tree, said it was cut down sometime this week, just east of Lake Merritt. It appears to have been carved with a back, but even Oakland's public works department did not know if it was intentional.

In the meantime, it's a beautiful day and spot to sit and rest.