Nature Portfolio

Nature Poem

Wind

I may not be seen, but you know I am here,
when you here chimes a'thumping,
their sweet melody in your ear.
Those cool breezes on hot summer nights,
I make them too, such delights.
For I waltz around and that can't be beat
but sometimes I feel a different rhythm in my feet.
I am felt on your cheeks on a cold, breezy night,
yet if you saw me I would cause quite a bit of fright.
For I dance and swing in every which way,
two left feet you might even say.
These days I cha-cha, such a quick step,
and you will feel cold, this I can bet.
The tree branches sway,
the leaves rustle in my current,
and I jive all around,
lively though pertinent.
Because of this, you might even say,
that a storm is on its way.
And if one comes,
I assist the clouds,
In moving the rain,
pushing it along is what I vowed.
But most days I fox trot,
with long, smooth steps.
I flow through the branches,
without much pep.
I time my movements carefully,
traveling through the grass,
not making a jerk, leaving no forecasts.
30 lines

Creation Story

Before humans could be found on Earth, the land only consisted of wild animals, plants, and all of the necessities needed for these animals to survive. The heavens were home to the Gods which ruled over the land and all of the wild life on it. The Sun God and the Wind God arrogated the highest power onto themselves and made sure that the animals and land lived in equilibrium. But the two were so busy arguing with each other because of their different views on how the Earth should be ruled, they did not realize that the animals were taking advantage of the trees. Wanting to emulate their favorite, the Wind God, the animals sought to bring the dominant power over themselves and made the trees subordinate. They loved to play games with each other, where they invidiously used the trees as their playing pieces. They had an insatiable desire for bowling, and played almost every day. The trees were used as the bowling pins and branches were weaved into spheres to use as the bowling balls. Back then, trees were free to walk around on their roots as legs and were not stuck in the ground. Therefore, they were unwillingly used as bowling pins and were constantly being knocked over. When they finally recognized what was happening, the Wind God saw nothing wrong with this, but the Sun God felt otherwise. He had no choice but to accost the Wind God and yell at him in disapproval for his lack of discipline over the animals. The two were caught in a terrible maelstrom where the Harvest God took the Sun God’s side. In this violent situation full of chaos between the Sun and Wind, the Harvest God deviously went down to Earth to save the trees. He turned the animals’ water into a brackish sea which no longer enabled them to talk or play games. Then he summarily rooted the trees into the soil so they could no longer be bullied by the animals if they ever found the knowledge to reverse the spell put on their water. Now, whenever the Wind God would try and seek revenge on the Sun and Harvest by blowing his forces on the trees, they could not be hurt because they were firmly planted into the ground.

385 words

Textbook Responses

The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls

As individuals, we believe that our lives are extremely important and make a big difference to the world as a whole. But through repetition, imagery, and symbolism, Henry Longfellow illustrates that the importance of people on this world is greatly exaggerated. One may think that the world revolves around them, but this poem proves that this is not true. By repeating “And the tide rises, the tide falls” at the end of every stanza, Longfellow beats into our head that the world continues to move along no matter what happens to us. Our lives are like the “effaced… footprints in the sands.” We are continuously entering into the world and are leaving our marks on it, but nature eventually washes them all away. This is shown by Longfellow’s extensive use of imagery. Nature has been around much longer than us, and continuously erases all of our so called footprints as if they were never there. Even if something as great as a death occurs, the sea continues to undulate, not worrying about the past or what has taken place, but moving along as if nothing had ever happened. Contrary to many people’s beliefs, people play a minor role in the world, and life on earth continues no matter the circumstances that the people that live on it face. This poem had me thinking: are humans truly the most important beings on this planet?

232 words

Grass

In Grass, Carl Sandburg uses personification and gives the grass human qualities to convey to the reader that grass acts as a cover up for all of our human folly. We are so blinded by the beauty of the grass and nature over all, that we do not see what truly lies beneath. Time after time, war after war, the grass is forced to cover up the destructive actions that we humans make. We have forced it to do our dirty work and have made this an instinctive job because we do not learn from our mistakes and have history repeat itself. After each war, the grass says "shovel them [dead bodies] under and let me work." This quote illustrates that we have turned grass into a mortician and have put off such a horrible responsibility onto something so innocent. Often, grass is seen as a magnificent part of nature that has a calming effect, but Sandburg is opening our eyes to a different point of view. When he says, "Two years, ten years, and the passengers ask the conductor: What place is this? Where are we now?" Sandburg is expressing his idea that we can’t just put aside what we have done and forget the lessons we have learned from previous encounters. He is trying to make us see beneath the grass so we will have a broader perspective of our surroundings and remember the history we have created so it can be used to our advantage even though it can’t be seen.

254 words

Snowbound

When I read the first line of the poem, “The sun that brief December day rose cheerless…slow tracing down the thickening sky its mute and ominous prophecy,” I immediately thought of the storm that we had in 2010. I remember how everyone was so worried and every single weatherman was bombarding us with warnings and information about the upcoming storm. But when I read in the poem that “Meanwhile we [the family] did our nightly chores,” I was very surprised. All we did was sit glued to our televisions in uneasiness, or go out for salt and shovels. I don’t think anyone was worried about walking their dog, doing the laundry or the dishes, or any other chores. The author spent so much time describing the “hard, dull bitterness of cold” that I wouldn’t even think of going out. If anyone was to go out, it would be an unwilling man forced to by his nagging wife. Although I have opposing feelings about what the family did before and during the storm, I’d do the exact same thing that the boys in the story did. I remember being just as excited to shovel the snow and later play in it dressed just like an Eskimo. But just as fast as they were to find fun, it disappointed me how quickly they caught cabin fever.

224 words

Snowstorm

It is amazing how Emerson can prove to us that something as simple and intuitive as snow can become so elaborate. Through his description of the snowstorm’s arrival, he is able to substantiate Nature’s creative power and how remarkable it can be. In the poem, nature had the ability to hinder the people from proceeding with their normal courses of life. This is shown through the line “The sled and traveler stopped, the courier’s feet delayed, all friends are shut out.” He too wants us to stop for at least a second and open our eyes to allow ourselves to enjoy nature’s beauty. By saying that the snow’s arrival is “announced by all the trumpets of the sky,” Emerson is expressing his transcendentalist ideas by implying that we should exalt when snow is coming because it brings out the better of us and shows us who is boss in the world. Before the storm, all of the people were separated, but once the snow covered everything, all of the people came together too. Everything remained linked by “the frolic nature of the snow,” and all of a sudden the individuality of man became connected through nature. The snow was no longer an ominous threat, but an incredible mason whose sculpture work brought the people together. I feel like the snow had the ability to do this only because the people realized that they will never construct art this beautiful or captivating as quickly and effortlessly as nature did.

248 words

To Build a Fire

The main message conveyed in this story was knowledge versus instinct. The man in the story was a “newcomer in the land” and clearly had no experience as an adventurer in this weather. His frosted beard and numbing nose and cheekbones were all facts that indicated danger, but this “made no impression on the man.” He also underestimated the cold and ignored all of the warnings and advice the wiser old man gave him. Instead, he took all of his previous knowledge and assigned it great significance. Although it seems like all of his ignorance toward his body’s warnings indicated a lack of knowledge, they truly indicated a lack of instinct. Because all he listened to were his own facts, he never managed to make any mental processes and link what was happening to himself with what those facts meant. Emerson even stated that “he was quick and alert in the things of life, but only in the things, and not in the significance.” But even though the man suffered greatly, London showed no compassion towards him. He wanted to show us how foolish we can be and was almost secretly dissing us. We think that just because we are book smart, we are superior to all, but this is obviously not the case. If we don’t have the ability to make mental connections with our previous knowledge and our natural instincts, we are going to encounter trouble just like the man in the story. But if we listen to our bodies’ natural instincts and don’t act so naïve, we have a chance to survive just like the dog.

269 words

The Most Beautiful Breakfast

Most children are excited when they find out that they are going to Disney World for summer vacation. But I, being the spoiled brat I am, was only excited when I heard where my mom was taking me for breakfast on the last day we were staying at the resort. My mom made us reservations for breakfast with the princesses inside Cinderella’s castle.

As any eight year old, I was extremely excited to have the privilege to eat breakfast with all of the Disney princesses and get their autographs. I eagerly waited all week for the morning to come, and when it did I made sure to dress for it. My mom and I entered into the castle and waited in line to take a picture with Cinderella and then have her escort us to our table. She even gave me a sparkly blue wand. My jaw dropped when I entered the dining hall decked in magnificent blue curtains, snow white table clothes, and royal gold chairs. Our waiter pulled out our chairs for us at our table. Where we were seated, we had a spectacular view of the Magic Kingdom. It was so majestic, I almost forgot that we had come to eat breakfast.

Finally the food came out on silver platters that were set out in front of us and then opened to reveal a pink yogurt and granola parfait in a bowl drizzled with cinnamon glaze all around. My mouth watered and I immediately took a crunchy bite that made my mouth tingle. This was literally a meal fit for a queen. As I finished eating, the princesses started making their way around every table. I became very nervous and breathed heavily, but once Snow White hugged me, this all went away. I melted into her arms and almost fell into a fantasy world because I was so overwhelmed. I hugged every single princess and got her autograph, making sure to get a picture too. They were so pretty and kind, I didn’t want to leave the breakfast hall, let alone leave their arms. I felt as if I were one of them and wished I never had to leave. But unfortunately, the time came and I had to say goodbye and return to the normal world full of peasants. *

I still have the wand Cinderella gave me and keep my picture album filled with all of the princesses and me close by so I will never forget this moment. This breakfast was not only special because of all of the princesses and lovely decor, but because I could get away from the real world and my brothers and enjoy some of the last enjoyable moments of my innocent childhood with all attention on me. I had the opportunity of the lifetime and lived it to the fullest as a princess. This is almost every girls’ dream and I still can’t believe I got to live it. But when I look back at it today, it makes me feel good to know that I was able to spend quality time with my mom where she could still see me as her little girl before I would become a teenage brat.*

534 words

*Those are sarcastic

Atlantic Essay Reaction

Walking, The American Forests, and The Sound of Trees

Although it may not be often, we all eventually have the urge and need to go out and experience nature's beauty. Thoreau expresses this in Walking when he talks about the townsmen who took a walk "in which they were so blessed as to lose themselves for half an hour in the woods," but still "confined themselves to the highway ever since." Nature has a captivating ability that brings us freedom and clears our minds. It almost takes our bodies over as Thoreau mentioned in his story when he was able to walk incredible lengths without thinking or even seeing civilization. But, as expressed in The American Forests and The Sound of Trees, we are taking this incredible power away from ourselves. Even during the time these pieces were written, people were worried about what we were doing to nature. In The American Forests, Muir says that "God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand straining, leveling tempests and floods; but he cannot save them from fools. We are those fools, constantly destroying and disrespecting what has been given to us to make room for our pompous lifestyles. In the Sound of Trees, Frost writes, “we suffer them [trees] by the day till we lose all measures of pace and fixity in our joys.” The sound that the trees are making are their pleas for freedom which they can't achieve because they are stuck due to their roots and have a huge role in the environment. We are the ones causing their suffering and the reason they want to leave, but they unfortunately can't unlike our selfish selves. Nature plays a very important role in our lives even if we don't realize it, but in order to receive the greatness it has to offer, we have to make sure to appreciate and take care of it the same way we enjoy it.

Weather Experience

We had just enjoyed a family vacation at a waterpark in Ohio, and just as happy as we were to be there, my family was excited to get back home. I was 6 years old at the time, and was scared out of my wits when it started raining on the car ride home. A few seconds ago, the sky was clear and the sun was out. But as I looked back again out the car window, the entire sky was dark and I could see the first few drops of rain that quickly turned into a shower. It poured and poured and all I heard was the pounding of the water on the roof of the car and the windows. The continuous tapping made me think that someone was trying to get into our car and this just added to my fear. The large racket along with the darkness and inability to see where we were driving made me start to cry. As we were forced to pull over, I felt even more anxiety because I thought we were never going to be able to get home and might not even survive. Of course, the storm wasn’t that bad, but as a 6 year old I always only thought of the worst case scenario. I grabbed onto my grandma who was sitting next to me and she stroked my head. I was finally able to calm down and surprisingly fell asleep even though it was still raining. When I woke up, we were finally back home and I jumped out of the car shouting how I couldn’t believe I had made it.