Well hey there! I know I have been slow to post, but I have an excuse (you can decide if it is good or not). I took on a part-time job teaching at a college near me. This is in addition to my already full-time environmental conservation focused job. Of course my opinions here are not those of either of my employers which is why I do not share their names.
I love teaching and I love biology, but they have kept me pretty busy from my other love of writing. I wanted to share a new article with you though (and maybe procrastinate from the work of those prior mentioned jobs a bit). Since I am busy though, I decided to share two nature focused poems I wrote a few years back. Since today (7/10/21) the temperature hit 108 degrees Fahrenheit here in Tucson, and there are multiple forest fires going on around the country, what better thing to post about than autumn.
The first poem is actually the earliest poem of mine that I have on my digital files written in 2001. It definitely isn’t the first poem I wrote. Aside from the stack of notebooks and scribbles I have piled up, I distinctly remember being fairly young, sitting at my little desk, one of those where you could lift the desktop up and have storage underneath. It was located in my family dining room right in the corner, between the dinner table and the windows that looked out on the crop land and old growth trees that surrounded our house. This crop land we turned into trees and prairie several years later. I wrote about a duck and spelled “are” wrong (ar)… like I said, I was pretty young.
Red-orange Red-orange is the color of the leaves in autumn Crunching below your feet, Or a rusty nail in a pile of rubble Or the fire that burns down a forest
The second poem, written in 2008, was during my first attempt at the college life. My 3rd semester in, and the last semester before I dropped out from that first go-round. I had taken a creative writing course just for fun. We read our poems out loud so that students and the professor could provide feedback. We also provided everyone with a paper copy of our poems so that they could provide feedback on it instead of out loud, if they preferred. There is one line in this poem that I distinctly remember my professor bashing strongly and out loud in front of the class instead of silently as a note on the copy of my poem she returned to me. I think about that moment when I see this poem, but I think she was wrong. I think this was one of my better rhyming poems I did back then. Maybe her feedback had some precedence, but not to the level of vocalization that she used. So I have finally worked up the courage to share it out loud again. Also, I like autumn leaves and the feeling of nature that they give, even in the midst of a bustling city park.
An autumn journey You look down to the people below Watching sadly as they go No attention meant for you But the day will come when the sky stays no longer blue The sun only stays for a little while Looking around you; you’re still in denial So many surrounding you, yet all alone Not sure if you are going or leaving home Your skin drying up and changing to flames Your body filled up with colorful stains Suddenly people are stopping to admire Your beauty better than an angel choir Just when you’re loved the end comes to your fame The night brings on the rain Down down you tumble Now looking up at the people that stumble The wind picks you up, you’re floating away Found by a child the following day Pressing you down; preserve you forever Slapped in a book to view whenever From beginning to end From green to gold This is the story told That one leaf has to hold
I hope you enjoyed these nature-themed works of creativity. Comment below, let me know what you think. It may be a couple weeks until I can get another article up, but I am still here, promise.
Courtney The Frogologist 