Nature wakening
Early morning hour
Dawn’s new arrival
Whispering stillness
Nature witnessing
Unique day ahead
Heavens’ face brightens
Breathing peacefulness
Nature prevailing
Sunrise lifts her shade
Nighttime put to rest
Stirring each creature
Nature conceiving
Life breathes easily
Blossoms swell upward
Seeking tender warmth
Nature gathering
World founded from light
Rhythms now salute
Beaming melodies
Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.
The world is our consciousness, and it surrounds us.
Gary Snyder (born 1930) is an American poet, lecturer, and environmental activist. He has often been recognized as the “poet laureate of Deep Ecology.” He has also received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
Photo by Skitterphoto on Pexels.com
Music permeates through the woods
Listen closely, can you hear it?
This melody brings a sense of calm
Nature witnesses a new hit
Calmness radiates from a banjo
Listen again, can you feel it?
Life pauses, taking in this song
Appreciate this moment, let’s sit
Even in darker times, comes light
Listen now, can you feel its blitz?
Calming tune filling every heart
Playing a banjo, without the glitz
People reaching out to others
Living as sisters and brothers
Steve Martin is an accomplished banjo player, and he shares a message of calmness and peace from the woods with his own self-video performance. This video inspired the writing of this poem.
Originally published March, 2020.
Looking into nearby trees
Visualizing every leaf
Moving with another breeze
Viewing each artist’s motif
Reminding of blessed life
Molding self, with every hour
Breathing in peace, without strife
Seasoning days, never sour
Touching greenest blades of grass
Remembering every step
Topping off another glass
Sitting at nature’s doorstep
Exploring depths of these woods
Imagining what’s waiting
Delivering timeless goods
Tasting life, captivating
Winter to summer
Life’s annual rendezvous—
Fleeting taste of spring
Rainy clouds arrive
Farmers waited with patience—
Harvest time’s sunshine
Majestic white pines
Sharing Creator’s presence—
Faithful guardians
What is any ocean but a multitude of drops?
Travel far enough, you meet yourself.
David Mitchell (born 1969) is an English novelist who is a best-selling author. He also has contributed to television and film as a screenwriter.
Cloudless, morning sky lifting up her shade
Brilliant, yet subtle light cascading down
Generations of peace-filled accolades
Navigating each successful splashdown
Gentle breeze descends with expectant glance
Endlessly sharing her breath every hour
Invitations accepted for each dance
Feeling softness caressing each flower
Moisture gathers along distant skyline
Whisper of rain’s scent filling every space
Better than sweetest aroma of wine
Offering something precious to embrace
Lowering her shade at sunset each night
Dreaming of sunrise’s wakening light
This poem has been crafted as a traditional sonnet with 14 verses, each containing 10 syllables. An intricate rhyming scheme is followed in each stanza with every other verse.
Witnessing child’s growth
Harvesting learning each day—
Inquisitive mind
Listen with purpose
Endless landscape never rests—
Even silence speaks
Never one regret
Lifetime’s sweethearts together—
Day’s sunny side up
Finally, spring bursting free
Playful nature shares its toys
At long last, wintertime flees
Every blossom spreading joy
Until needed later on
Winter’s layers stored away
Coats, scarves, hats, mittens . . . all gone!
Cooler clothing on its way
Every day, more green arrives
Essence of freshly cut grass
Sun leads chorus of high fives
More sparkling than clearest glass
Clouds away on vacation
Big sky forming overhead
Gardens erupt with color
Warmer days racing ahead
Farmers ready to sow crops
Stewards of earth’s blessed land
Fed with sun and rainy drops
Autumn’s harvest soon at hand
Surely the flowers of a hundred spring are simply the souls of beautiful things.
Can words describe the fragrance of the very breath of spring?
L. M. Montgomery (1874-1942) was a Canadian author whose first acclaimed novel was ANNE OF GREEN GABLES, published in 1908.
Neltje Blanchan (1865-1918) was an American scientific historian and nature writer. Several of her published works dealt with wildflowers and birds.
Big Sky Buckeye 