It is so beautiful out here
I missed this
The river
The trees
The birds
And everything else.
–Sari LaDeaux
Nature
The chill wind
Against my skin
The birds chirping
The water sloshing
The smell of rain and dewy air
The feel of damp grass against my skin
The taste of a earthy granola bar
This is where I call home
–Haley O’Keefe
Sand shifting
Water rolling
The sun beaming,
Leaving Bridges burning
Birds singing
Trees rustling
Canoers paddling
Tipping topping
Yet still relaxing
Rocks rolling
Bugs buzzing
Flowers glowing
Cliffs slanting
Pretty fall leaves
Every step crunching
Ears overflowing
Calming, calming
And always relaxing.
–Samantha Sprenger
9:00am
There are people
Coming from their machines. I
Realize they come
From their towns. I
Know that. Yet
I am not sure what
Brings them here.
They gather around
The shore, it’s not
Natural, of course,
I was made by others
A long time
Ago.
They bring their floating, metal
Logs to the shore. They
Then begin to talk about
Being in the
Present moment. I find
It quite a shame they
Do not refuse to linger in
What has already been.
9:23am
Some move with
The water, others move
Against it. They know
Not of what it is like
To be one with nature.
All they do is fight it
Or use and abuse it.
9:47am
There are two
Groups of them. One group
Tries to preserve and capture
What is right there
In the moment to look
Upon later. The
Others try to experience
The ride the
water takes
Them on
Right now, I am not sure
Which one is better off.
10:00am
The water ones stop to
Enjoy the scenery
Around themselves.
They hear my calls
And admire the
Beauty they believe
It holds. Do they not
Have their own beauty
In life must they
Have to
Rely on the beauty
Of others to
Comfort them?
Or do they yearn for
The ways of once
Traditional old?
I know not.
–Landon Mooney
The river is cold
And cliff faces old
The sun is so bright
What a lovely sight
Thank you park rangers
You keep us safe from dangers
I’m thankful for this trip
I am very glad I didn’t tip.
–Evelyn Rolfe
My Monarch Butterfly
7:00 A.M
I wake to morning glory
The sun rising; the break of dawn
I spread my wings with delight
Awaiting the morning breeze
8:00 A.M
I flutter from flower to flower
Tree to tree
Trying to find the warm place
That would rescue me
9:00 A.M
My wings are torn and tattered
From the sudden predator attack
My wings do not spread
I do not fly
10:00 A.M
I am taken to a bridge
The water flows beneath me
The wind a frightening rush
I try to catch the breeze
But I do not fly
10:30 A.M
The world is cold upon this frozen rock
I spread my wings and try once more
My failed attempts would be the death of me
As I hit the flowing river below
–Neeley Cronin
Here I stand,
away from everything,
alone in solitude.
The water falling from above,
Just like our emotions.
There will always be water flowing,
just like how we as humans
are always showing our emotions
Here I stand,
looking around.
Many different sights as far as the eye can see,
but there was one.
One that really caught my eye.
Everything was gorgeous,
there was that one,
that was so much more special,
and then I got to thinking.
I am looking at this the same way most people look at themselves.
They only see one thing,
One thing they like about themselves.
they don’t see the whole picture
to realize all of them is gorgeous,
just like how I didn’t see all of the beauty that was around,
When I open my eyes.
Here I stand.
-Kaylee Hanson
