Kilmer 's poem was recited in the 1980 film Superman II , as well as its 2006 director 's cut . In the scene , villain Lex Luthor ( played by Gene Hackman ) and others enter Superman 's Fortress of Solitude and come across a video of an elder ( John Hollis ) from planet Krypton reciting " Trees " as an example of " poetry from Earth literature " . Luthor ridicule the poem .