Introduction

What does your daily routine look like? Sometimes a “routine” becomes so automatic that we don’t even pay attention to what we are doing. Things around us could be going on that we don’t even notice because we wear blinders and look only straight ahead. Poets are close observers of the world around them. Sometimes they see beauty; sometimes they see ugliness. The poets’ striking words paint a picture for the reader. Nature is a common theme in poetry. As readers of poetry, we also have many observations to make and so many parallels to draw to our own lives.

For this exercise, you will read some poems and an interview that focus on nature as the theme. Then you will make your own observations about the world around you by writing a descriptive paragraph or poem about something that you don’t usually notice.

Science and Nature Poems
http://www.firstscience.com/site/poems.asp
Earth Day interview with writers
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/earth_day_4-22.html

Start with “Science and Nature Poems.” Click on the titles of poems that interest you and read them. After you have finished, go to the PBS Website and read the transcript of an interview that includes excerpts from nature poetry and prose by famous American writers.

1.	Once you have finished reading these selections, write either a descriptive paragraph or a poem about something in nature that you don’t usually notice.