HAIKU
All too soon, prairies
will cease as wildlife havens
ugly urban sprawl
2/16/03 Phyllis VanVleck
Posted in ecology, haiku, Poetry, tagged prairies, urban sprawl, wildlife on Tuesday,September 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »
HAIKU
All too soon, prairies
will cease as wildlife havens
ugly urban sprawl
2/16/03 Phyllis VanVleck
Posted in ecology, haiku, Nature, Poetry, tagged prairies, urban sprawl, wildlife on Monday,August 31, 2009| Leave a Comment »
HAIKU
All too soon, prairies
will cease as wildlife havens
ugly urban sprawl
2/16/03 Phyllis VanVleck
Posted in Poetry, tagged birch, birds, blossoms, branch, butterflies, fruits, grove, lullaby, Nature, nectar, oak, rain, scenic, snow, squirrels, tapestry, trees, trunk, view, wildlife, willows, wounds on Monday,October 13, 2008| 4 Comments »
NATURE AS IT USED TO BE
There used to be a tapestry
Of nature’s verdant artistry
A hill where trees and wildlife grew
But now it’s gone from scenic view
Replaced by station and a shed
Both, painted blue and garish red
Like bleeding wounds upon the earth
Replacing years of ancient birth
No treetops where a breeze can sigh
In tender leafy lullaby
That cast their shadows down below
In summer’s rain and winter’s snow
No fingered roots to run down deep
Entwining willows that would weep
Embracing those of elm and spruce
And those with fruits once ripe with juice
No lovely blossoms, pink and white
Emitting fragrance day and night
Where bees paid visit in the spring
With busy wings that seemed to sing
No place for birds to stop and perch
On nesting-trees, like oak and birch
Where butterflies were wont to rest
While on relentless nectar quest
No more birds of brilliant hue
That flashed their colors as they flew
No place for squirrels to race around
On branch and trunk, down to the ground
The grove is gone and can’t return
Tall trees and bushes – flower and fern
And soon all spots of earthly class
Will be replaced by steel and glass
If I could only have my way
Such spots would be designed to stay
So in the future you could see
Nature as it used to be
7/16/92 Phyllis DeWitt VanVleck
Posted in ecology, Inspirational, Nature, Poetry, World, tagged cold, eagles, glacial movement, meadow, mountains, rain, rhyming, snow, sun, valley, village, waterfall, wildlife, wind, winds on Tuesday,October 7, 2008| Leave a Comment »
MOUNTAIN MAJESTY
Chiseled by great glacial movement
Etched by mighty winds and rain
Stands a range of distant mountains
Sensual in their pristine grandeur
Cloud cloaked summits hiding faces
From the sting of wind blown snow
Waiting for the sun’s flirtation
Warming respite from the cold
On the slopes are verdant meadows
Crystal streams and waterfalls
Great pine forests full of wildlife
Range for bald and golden eagles
Nestled snugly in the valley
Lies a village ‘neath its slopes
Awed by nature’s supreme sculpture
Humbled ever, at its feet
8/30/91 Phyllis DeWitt VanVleck
4’th … NFSPS 1993
Posted in ecology, Nature, Poetry, tagged birds, brick, earth, forest, Music, Nature, progress, rhyming, steel, trees, wildlife on Wednesday,June 25, 2008| Leave a Comment »
WHERE NATURE STOOD
Where once there was a wooded hill
The earth is flat and much too still
Trees cut down, dirt hauled away
This is progress, so they say
Gone are trees that once housed birds
Who chorused music without words
Gone, giant oaks with arms spread wide
That were the forest’s greatest pride
The tangled brush on forest floor
Will not be seen here anymore
Gone are vines, and berries too
Sweet and succulent where they grew
And where did all the wildlife go
The tiny fawn and sloe-eyed doe
And squirrels who entertained each day
With lively acrobatic play
Raccoons, rabbits, and chipmunks too
Gone forever, as if on cue
And no more den with fox and kits
There’s nothing left, not even bits
Because where groves of trees once stood
Are buildings made of brick and wood
And even some of steel and glass
With tiny lawns of pampered grass
The hill and woods took years to form
Surviving cold, surviving storm
But in a month ’twas gone for good
Progress stands where nature stood
4/4/92 – Phyllis DeWitt VanVleck