The rustle of rough leaves awakens me from my rest And I gaze up at a dark sky as vast as the sea And laugh as the stars tumble into my hair “How green your leaves are!” the stars whisper in my hair. “How bright with happiness you are,” I sigh. “No. The sky is cold and lonely,” the stars moan. “At least the birds don’t peck at your arms and the squirrels don’t hide nuts in your armpits.” “But the birds sing to you and the squirrels tickle your bark.” “True, I’m lucky to be a tree.” “Alas, my nearest neighbor is ten light-years away.” “But you guide people through the darkness.” “Yes, we do,” the stars whisper, their voices tinted with new light. And as a blue jay’s soft feathers brush my arms, I inhale the sharp green sent of pine, and I laugh Cayley Ziak, 12Coto de Caza, California
Poetry-Nature
The Storm
Brilliant splashes of yellow light Spewing all corners of the earth With a radiant glow of scarlet Then darkness A shield of gray Then the rains Pounding relentlessly On the cold Damp Ground The wind Slowly growing With every passing second A clap of thunder Vibrating the water-drenched ground Then peace The storm retreats. Lincoln Hartnett, 10Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Pursuit
Her pudgy feet ran through the grass Sparkling in the morning dew Her footprints left a trail behind her Impressions on the cold ground She ran Her feet stumbling on unfamiliar territory She tripped and stumbled to the ground She rose without hesitation and again began her pursuit Of the beautiful winged creature Its wings carried it higher Faster than her little feet could take her Yet she ran Willing herself to go faster She closed the gap It was nearly in her reach She sprung from the ground A single finger brushing a delicate wing Then it was off and she hit the ground It fluttered away Soaring to the sky While she stayed grounded Her face misted Her knees green But with a smile forming She accomplished her goal She touched the butterfly Kym Goodsell, 13Woods Cross, Utah
