GREEN POETRY
In addition to celebrating Earth Day and Arbor Day, April is also
the month we celebrate poetry. In honor of these three, the
Forest Preserves of Cook County encourages people to write
their own poetry inspired by nature.
Many poets use nature as a theme. Carl Sandburg was the Poet
Laureate for Illinois. Here is one of his nature-inspired poems.
SUMMER GRASS
by Carl Sandburg
Summer grass aches and whispers
It wants something; it calls and it sings; it pours
Out wishes to the overhead stars.
The rain hears; the rain answers; the rain is slow
Coming; the rain wets the face of the grass.
We hope you are inspired by nature too! This year help us
celebrate Earth Day by writing poetry inspired by nature. Send
us your poems and we’ll post some of them for others to enjoy.
Here are some ideas for writing your own
green poetry.
1. Write a Haiku about water without using the word “water.”
Haikupoemsconsistofthreelines,withusingvesyllables
intherstline,sevensyllablesinthesecondlineandve
syllables in the last line.
The animal lives (5 syllables)
Inside of all of us now (7 syllables)
So let it outside (5 syllables)
2. Writeave-linedpoemaboutanaturalplaceyouhave
visitedinpersonorthroughpictures. Each line should
describetheplaceusingyourvesenses:see,hear,
smell, touch, taste. The title is the name of the place.
The North Pole
White is everywhere (see)
Whistling Wind (hear)
The scent of icicles is cold (smell)
Salty air hangs around (taste)
Cold wind bites my skin (touch)
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3. Write a rhyming poem about the different sounds you
wouldheararoundyouwhenyouareoutside,underatree.
ShelSilversteinwrotethisrhymingpoemspecicallyabout
poetry and a tree.
THE POET TREE
by Shel Silverstein
Underneath the poet tree
Come and rest awhile with me
And watch the word web weaves
Between the shady story leaves.
The branches of the poet tree
Reach from the mountains to the sea.
So come and sit ... and dream … and climb—
Just don’t get hit by falling rhymes.
4. Writeaconcretepoemaboutyourfavoriteanimalthat
livesintheForestPreservesofCookCountywithoutusing
thenameoftheanimal.A concrete poem uses the words
of the poem to make a picture of what the poem is about.
Foranexampleofaconcretepoemcheckoutthiswebpage:
tinyurl.com/rebeccajgomez
5. Writeapoemaboutnatureandhowitmakesyoufeel
when you’re in it.
• Choose your favorite nature noun
• Write that word at the top of your paper
• Write two words that describe that word (adjectives)
• Write three action words that relate to that word (verbs)
• Write a short “I” statement connecting that word to one
of your senses without using the word itself
• End the poem with one word about how that word
makes you feel
• Read your poem out loud
Sun
Yellow, Bright
Shining, Heating, Melting
I see its rays through the leaves
Warmth
6. Describeyourfavoritethingtodooutdoorswithoutusing
theword“like.”Useyourfavoritepoetrystyle.
Visit this website for inspiration. tinyurl.com/ybfqw8cl
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