Tag Archives: nature poem

Is Convenience Worth the Last Drop?

Is Convenience Worth the Last Drop?

By Mikaela Gee, age 16, New York.

As we walk from the sea to earth, along paths carved by rapids long ago,
It was Mother Nature’s tears that nourished and raised—
Our bodies, our cells, our kin who’ve begun,
To shape the earth with a boundless run.

And yet, we have forgotten our mother,
Who raised us through countless years.
Her lifeblood, pure and versatile,
Now depleted, unwaveringly so.
She gives us the sweetest fruits to savor,
Irrigates our crops to yield golden wheat,
And builds the grand towers that power our homes.
Yet we poison her roots, her veins,
Choking the motor, seizing the reins.
Our pipes leak lacquered oil into her seas,
From which we fish, then we eat.
Steel succumbs, its strength turned frail by decay,
Her hands unearth truths time cannot betray,
Empires crumble, bound by nature’s say.

And so I call upon you—
My peers, future generations, and past:
Let us pause and remember: the taste of water, sweet and crisp.
The refreshing rain that quenches earth’s thirst.
Without water, no harvest will grow,
No forests, no flowing seas—no us.

Let us act before time discreetly seeps away,
With hands that halt the careless streams,
And choices that honor the gift we’ve known—
So the rhythm of life may endlessly flow,
So that our cups will always be filled to the brim.

By Mikaela Gee, age 16, Chinese-Malaysian, New York. Mikaela explores life’s complexities through quiet reflection, capturing universal emotions in still moments—like gazing out a car window at the world rushing by. She’s eager to share her voice and connect with readers, blending personal introspection with themes that resonate widely. Expect to see more of her poems in near future.

Beneath A Tree

Happy Earth Day to all our subscribers and readers of Skipping Stones Magazine. To Celebrate Earth Day, we share with you a short poem by our contributor Maggie d., an African American poet in Washington. Enjoy it!
 

Beneath A Tree

Someone planted a tree
For me
To get out of
The sun
And enjoy the fun
Of reading a book
Under a roof of pine
Scented branches
Leaving behind my
Stuffy room
And watch
Zooming birds build
Their nest
Without rest
A hardy thank-you goes out
To the person
Who planted a tree
For birds and people like me
 
By maggie d., African American poet, Washington. She adds:
“The poem erupted from a shade tree being cut down where I live.”

Nature Is This and This Is I

I, I, I, I am nature.
Nature is this and this is I,
I, I, I, I am nature,
Nature needs love and care, so do I.
I am this and this is nature,
I need food and water.
Nature is this and this is I,
Nature grows over time, so do I.
I am this and this is nature.
I like to be in the sun.
Nature is this and this is I.
I, I, I, I am nature.
 
By Arya Khan, age 8, Asian American, Illinois. Arya adds: “…nature and we are alike. Living in the city, nature is hard to find. I wish I could find nature like in my backyard or in a fairy tale. So I hope this (my poem) will help people plant trees and help the Earth a little bit more. I am also doing a project called Save the planet…”

Nature Haiku

the candle

as the cold flame dances
and onto the patient wick
lilies bloom anew

by Grace Coleman, age 15, California.

a broken earth

slipping on plastic
the earth now grows wires as vines
straws sprout, what are trees?

by Grace Coleman, age 15, California.

When Spring Comes

By Robyn Bjorkman, age 10, Michigan.

When the snow starts melt,

And the grass comes into view,

People are in a happy mood.

Day by day, the temperature will rise,

And there will be more sunshine,

More people will be out,

Enjoying the season,

For there will be many reasons.

There’s no more snow,

On the roads,

You can finally ride your bike.

Warm enough to unzip your coat,

But chilly enough when the wind blows.

Pleasant enough for when you see the birds again,

But fingertips turn cold when you aren’t wearing mittens.

When Spring comes, we get Spring Fever,

And folks don’t want it to be muddy either.

But there can be lots of great things,

Like when you (again) hear the birds sing,

And when you can ride your bike,

And get as dirty as you like.                                                                                                                                    

Poem by Robyn Bjorkman, age 10, Michigan.  Robyn like to go on adventures, write stories and create songs, and read. She hope to keep on writing.  

Six Rivers, Many Peoples, One Tree

Michael Mavris, grade 5, Reading his Poem at the 2021 Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony.
Photo credit: James Edward Mills.

This year Michael Mavris, a fifth grader from Del Norte, California who won a poetry contest about the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, got the honors of flipping the switch that officially illuminated the tree. For over 50 years the USDA Forest Service’s Christmas gift to the nation, the U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree, has inspired the imagination of millions. Standing elegantly at the base of Capitol Hill on the West Lawn the massive tree fondly referred to as the People’s Tree is harvested from a different forest every year. This year the Six Rivers National Forest in California had the honors of delivering the 84-foot tall fir tree they named “Sugar Bear.”

The evening ceremony also included comments from the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and other members of the California delegation in Congress along with the new Chief of the Forest Service, Randy Moore.

We are proud to share Michael’s poem below.

Six Rivers, Many Peoples, One Tree

By Michael Mavris, grade 5, California.

What does the theme “Six Rivers, Many Peoples, One Tree” mean to me?

As I ponder the question presented here, I consider where I am living-literally in the heart of the Six Rivers National Forest.

Here, tucked deep within the Northwestern corner of California is a remote land, whose majesty comes not from achievements of humankind, but rather nature itself.

Six mighty rivers criss-cross this rugged land. From the Smith and Klamath rivers in the north, stretching over to the Eel and the Mad, meeting the Van Duzen and the Trinity in the South, all of our rivers, amongst the cleanest in the world, represent life itself.

Like the First Peoples who have lived here since time immemorial, these rivers overcome every obstacle to ultimately reach their goal of becoming one with the Pacific Ocean.

Is this done by an exhibition of power or a show of strength?

No.

It is accomplished by sheer persistence. The indominable spirit of never giving up which is representative of this land and the Peoples that live here.

From the great tribes: the Yurok, Tolowa, Karuk, Wiyot, Chimariko, Nongatl, Hupa, and Wailaki, we are taught to commune and truly be one with nature. This ethos teaches us to view rugged lands, secluded forests, and fierce weather patterns, as something genuinely beautiful.

Such is the story of the White Fir, also known as Abies Concalor, whose beginnings trace back to a single seed. From this humble seed,dropped onto Mother Earth in a remote region the process begins.Nurtured by the fertile soil, which the Six Rivers saturates throughout the year and, against all apparent odds, not only confronts the weather but embraces it. The young tree emerges proudly upward towards the shining sun.

From this great forest, we bring you the majestic White Fir, to be the Capitol Christmas tree. As the lights are strung and the ornaments placed, we, the People who live in the tree’s symbolic shadow, hope that its beauty and grandeur provide a beacon to America and a reminder on this Christmas, that all things are possible.

Michael Mavris, 5th grade student, Del Norte County Unified School District, California.

Longing to Leave

By maggie d. , African American poet, Washington.

Frost and snow puzzles me

Hailing from Sudan

Icicles and sleet

Billowing clouds holding no

Heat

Makes me weep

For sandy dust sweeping

Across tan dunes 

Never ruining my shoes

With muddy slush of melted snow

Oh

Without constant sun

Running for fun

Getting drenched by rain

Has made me aim

For returning to Wad Madani

Leaving behind winter

Without a whimper

I will laugh again with 

Sunglasses on to watch

Camels parade upon dirt roads

But I suppose it will take awhile

For Alab to say

“Goodbye Sigh-beria!”

By Maggie d., Washington.

Global Warming

By Derek Meng, age 10, California.

Glaciers melting, polar bears dying

Sea levels rising, floods occurring

Fire’s spreading, lightning’s striking

Tornadoes and tsunamis ruining houses and killing

More and more natural disasters happening

Virus spreading, people dying

Have you ever thought about who has caused this trouble?

You might say it’s nature, but do you think of us

and our broken relationship with nature?

Carbon dioxide coming out of cars

Trees going down

Thousands of dead, unwanted fish thrown overboard

Tons of unused food discarded

These are few examples of what’s happening in our world

Then how can we help nature?

If you have thought, “How can we help Earth?”

Then here are some things we can do:

Reuse, reduce, recycle

Use reusable bags

Use reusable bottles

Plant trees

Pick up trash

Save electricity by turning off lights

Use renewable energy

These are a few ways we can help

Have you ever thought what a beautiful world it would be

If we could make Earth—our home—clean?

“I am Chinese and I live in California. I am bilingual—I speak both Chinese and English fluently, I can also read and write these two languages.

My Global Warming poem was inspired by climate change. I want people to know that our world may soon be inhabitable if we do not change our ways. 

My vision of the future is the past combined with the present, all the trees should be restored to extract all that extra carbon dioxide [from the atmosphere], our houses should be ecosystem-friendly, and every vehicle should run on electricity. This is because of what I think is important, which is the world, the environment, and my family.”

—Derek Meng, age 10, California.

In the Forest within the City Park

there is a beauty that can not be muffled

by the city’s lights and sounds

it flies free with the clouds

and pushes the leaves in the air

onto the ground

to flutter like butterflies  

it holds the reins of the seasons

it dresses the earth in wailing white and grassy green

it gives us life  

but we take away from its own

the sky is filled with fire

the ground bathed in garbage

after all that it has done to us

we must save it from ourselves  

we must protect our world, our home

our beginning

nature

By Jaslene Kwack, age 11, Illinois.

Jaslene writes: “I like writing, art and music. I play the piano, clarinet and I started bassoon a while ago. In my free time, I like to write stories and poems. I try to be creative using metaphors and verbs that aren’t cliche. I enjoy drawing realistic and abstract pieces of art. When I grow up, I want to be a person who combines art and writing in a creative way to entertain or help people.

     “I wrote [this] poem about nature and how we are polluting and killing our environment. I want to recognize the beauty of nature and how it formed us in the first place. Sometimes, people don’t give nature as much credit as it should deserve. Without it, our world would be empty and barren. In my poem, I also talk about parts of nature all around us everyday. The wind blowing, the leaves falling from trees. Technology which is represented in my poem as “the city’s lights and sounds” is taking over our world slowly by every hour. I think because of all these new inventions and ways of life we are making for ourselves, a lot of us forget about how important nature is and how it is humanity’s origin. We should recognize nature and be grateful for this world around us. I think we should all strive to be better and protect the earth so that we can keep our world clean and healthy.”