Poem Found in the Woods

(We are really fortunate to have the beautiful Lazo Woods right behind our school. We went out on “solos” to find poetry–record our observations and inspirations–and later, to read in the woods. Each student  submitted just one favourite line in the poem below–in order of their last name. Even though the lines are random, the poem has unity.)

Dark green
The board shimmered not black, but evergreen

The humming wings of the fluttering bee
Soaring raven

Dandelion seed lightly flutters down through the breeze
A shadow moves through the forest

The sun is so bright you can close your eyes, face the sun and still be blinded
For a tree cannot stand alone

Boulders poking up from under the moss and dirt
The bright sunlight gleaming through the trees
Green moss crawls up the trees

Baby raven oh so fun waiting for it’s mom to come!

The forest is a quiet place to work
Pushed aside the cedar grows lonely

Trees tower like city buildings
The forest gets older

The sun peeks through the swaying trees.
Big bugs buzzing
Leaves glowing like emerald
Sun peeking through the trees

Twigs crack, birds sing, the story of the forest silent, until you listen
Salal covers the forest floor like a carpet

Each tree tells a story, each stone starts anew

13 comments

  1. Hello Huzzahnians,
    It looks like you had a glorious day in the woods to write and read poetry. What a lovely field trip. I am reminded of Walden, written by an American poet/philospoher, Henry David Thoreau, who went into the woods in Concord, Massachusetts. Your class poem does indeed have unity as Ms. Smith says, as well as some beautiful figures of speech and imagery. The photos are wonderful as well, and make me homesick for the woods of New England where I am from. I’m glad you enjoyed your day of poetic inspiration and natural beauty.
    Mrs. Donofrio

    1. As always, Mrs. D, thank you for your encouragement. We know the benefits of spending time in nature for our phyisical and mental health. It’s exciting to be able to pull poetry out of these experiences. I will share some of Thoreau’s ideas with my class. Great idea.
      Cheers,
      Ms. S.

  2. What a lovely poem. 🙂 That is such a nice place to go for school, I know I would love to go and be able to read in the woods for school. The photos of the trees were also a very nice shot. Kudos. Looks like lots of fun.

    1. Thanks Jackson! How kind of you to drop by and give us a compliment. Right now we can’t read in the woods because the wasps are pretty nasty. Soon though. Take care, Ms. Smith

  3. I always like a good walk in the forest to cheer me up, and I’m not surprised that your class came up with that just by strolling along. Maybe we’ll do something like that this year, Ms. Smith?
    Cheers! Faith

    1. Hi Faith,
      I am glad you liked our poetry. It is always so satisfying to walk and sit and read and think–ok,just be in the woods. I think we should do this activity again, maybe in a few weeks?
      ~ Ms. Smith

    1. Hi Matthew, I think one of my favourite poems is called Caged Bird by Maya Angelou. Have you read it? These pictures were taken in the woods behind our school. Thanks for visiting our blog!
      ~Ms. Smith

  4. Hi Mrs. Smith
    I love the way you did the pictures in the woods, it looks pretty cool. Can we do field trips this year?
    Avery.

  5. Hi, I am learning to be a primary school teacher, and I am seeing how teachers use Blogs to enhance learning for their students.
    What a fantastic Blog. I love the photos of your students working in the forest (I am also a horticulturist). What kind of trees are they? This is typical forest of Mountain Ash gum trees in the low mountains near Melbourne.

    Thank you for allowing me to see your work, photos and your other interests. I found out about you from Megan Poore’s book, ‘Using Social Media in the Classroom’.
    -Anita, from Melbourne, Australia

    1. Hi Anita,
      I’m so glad you found us! The forest behind our school is largely second growth Douglas fir. We can also find Sitka spruce and western red cedar. Cedar in particular was considered “the tree of life” by the aboriginal people of this coast as it was used for clothing, tool, boats, homes, baskets, art. Thank you for the photo–it looks like a great home for dinosaurs!
      I was pretty surprised to hear that our class blog was mentioned in Megan’s book. I had no idea!
      Best wishes in your teaching career. May you find it as rewarding as I do.
      Cheers,
      Jan

  6. Hi Ms Smith

    I think that walking in the forest and reading a book is a great idea because when everyone is inside and sitting in a chair, they need fresh air and a breath of fresh air to get your brain going. I hope to do that this year!

    -Brett

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