A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

Kristina Arkhipova

A Bouquet of My
Favorite Poems of
Nature and Inspiration

A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................. 3
Chickadee-dee-dee ....................................................................................................................................... 5
When Night is Bright Like Day....................................................................................................................... 6
The Bluebird .................................................................................................................................................. 7
By The Water ................................................................................................................................................ 8
I Heard a Bird Sing ......................................................................................................................................... 9
Sea Shell ...................................................................................................................................................... 10
The Red Bird of winter ................................................................................................................................ 11
Forests ......................................................................................................................................................... 12
Into the Woodland ...................................................................................................................................... 13
A Moment in Summer................................................................................................................................. 14
The Secret Song........................................................................................................................................... 15
Spring .......................................................................................................................................................... 16
The Universe ............................................................................................................................................... 17
Until I Saw the Sea ...................................................................................................................................... 18
Little Daffodils Spring From The Grass ........................................................................................................ 19
Oh Butterfly Where Do You Go ................................................................................................................... 20
Who Listens to Flowers? ............................................................................................................................. 21
The Owl Never Told Me .............................................................................................................................. 23
Bibliography..24

A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

INTRODUCTION
In my opinion, the six qualities of a good poem for children are mental imagery,
emotional response, moral, flow, consistency, and writing style. That is to say, a good poem for
children should elicit vibrant, detailed images within a childs mind. It should also bring about
an intense emotion of some sort, whether positive, negative, or neutral. It should have a
specific moral or idea that the author is trying to convey that is simple enough for children to
understand, yet complex enough to make them truly think about it. When it comes to good
flow in a childrens poem, very little compares to a poem with a good rhythm and rhyme
scheme; the beats of each line and similar sounds help keep children interested. It is important
for the poem to be consistent as well, because there is nothing worse than a poem that
constantly switches topics. And finally, the poem must be well written, with concise and
accurate use of language. Of course, not every good childrens poem is going to have all of
these qualities, but they should have most.
I have chosen to write about Chickadee-dee-Dee because it is excellent in my opinion,
since it has most of the six qualities that I have talked about above. The poem starts out as
funny and really catches your attention. You can mentally imagine in the poem a little bird that
sings so lovely that it gets you to feel emotional. Its a comforting poem because it talks about
sitting in a warm spot outside, and listening to birds singing, which brings joy to people via the
beautiful songs they produce. In addition, while listening to the birds songs all your bad
thoughts leave the earth and you become stress-free. Likewise, it involves two seasons during
which the bird sings no matter what the weather is like, which gives meaning to the poem by

A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

showing that they are always out there to make people smile. Even though it doesnt rhyme,
the poem is not completely all over the place, jumping from one thought to another. Also,
there are few or no words in this poem that someone might not understand since the poem
doesnt use complex language. Overall, the poem flows really well and is truly inspirational to
me. This is the main reason I chose this poem to be the first in my anthology.

A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

Chickadee-dee-dee
Chickadee-dee-dee,
Chickadee-dee-dee,
Your song flits from branch to branch.
We sit in the warm spot
your music makes.
Chickadee-dee-dee,
Chickadee-dee-dee,
Summer winter
Grass snow
Your music fills the air,
while joy gets caught I our throats.
We wish we could sing,
But sometimes when our feet leap
And we leave the earth behind,
We become a song.

A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

When Night Is Bright Like Day

In summer

But if we close our eyes

When night is bright like day

We see winter river

The stars we see

Solid ribbon of ice

Are wildflowers.

Winding through silence.

But if we close our eyes

In summer

We see winter sky

When night is bright like day

And stars shining in darkness.

The trees we see

Wear sunshine and Red Squirrels.

In summer
When night is bright like day

But if we close our eyes

The sun we see

We see winter trees

Cuts a path to the river.

Asleep in snow
Kissed by the moon.

But if we close our eyes

We see winter sun

In summer

Struggling to sit up

When night is bright like day

Above the horizon.

We think the midnight sun

Will last forever.

In summer
When night is bright like day

But if we close our eyes

The river we see

We see winter light

Rolls over with boats and fish

Dim, short-lived
And weaving its own magic.

A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

The Bluebird

I know the song that the bluebird is singing,

Out in the apple-tree where he is swinging.
Brave little fellow! The skies may be dreary,Nothing cares he while his heart is so cheery.

Hark! How the music leaps out from his throat!

Hark! Was there ever so merry a note?
Listen a while, and youll hear what he is saying,
Up in the apple-tree swinging and swaying.

Dear little blossoms down under the snow,

You must be weary of winter, I know;
Hark while I sing to you a message of cheer!
Summer is coming, and spring-time is here!

Little white snow-drop! I pray you arise;

Bright yellow crocus! Come open your eyes;
Sweet little violets, hid from the cold,
Put on your mantles of purple and gold;
Daffodils! Daffodils! Say do you hear?
Summer is coming! And Spring-time is here!

A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

By The Water
There are rivers lapsing down
Lily-laden to the sea:
Every lily is a boat
For bees, one, two, or three:
I wish there were a fairy boat
For you, my friend, and me.

A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

I Heard a Bird Sing

I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December
A magical thing
And sweet to remember.

We are nearer to Spring

Than we were in September,
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December.

A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

Sea Shell
Sea Shell, Sea Shell,
Sing me a song, O Please!
A song of ships, and sailor men,
And parrots, and tropical trees,

Of islands lost in the Spanish Main

Which no man ever may find again,
Of fishes and corals under the waves,
And seahorses stabled in great green caves.

Sea Shell, Sea Shell,

Sing of the things you know well.

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A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

The Red Bird of winter

Every morning you call to me.
Long after the leaves have fallen,
you still come
to perch on thorny branches.
Today your song
is a reproach:
tsk, tsk.

I couldn't sleep again.

I rise from bed,
my hip aching
and watch you pick your way,
through frozen tufts of grass.
Your red does not fade.
I want to be like you
and never lose my appetite for morning.

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A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

Forests

I like going to forests,

With my family on a hike,
Sometimes I go on my bike,
In the forest, I really like.
Sometimes I can feel the breeze,
By the trees.
In the park,
The trees have bark.
That's where insects and animals live,
Beauty to the forest they give.
I always explore,
In the forest more.

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A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

Into the Woodland

I wonder further in the wood

then pause to take in all I could,
and there beneath its canopy
I'm caught up in all its beauty.
The colours start in palest green
a vibrant living leafy screen,
and spreading out in waves of pink
the Willow Herb and nettles link.
Insects buzz in whispered words,
the broad old Oak is full of birds
where Great Tits dare an early call,
beneath Jays dig within the sprawl.
Beyond a line of Foxglove towers
rise above a glade of flowers
and light, a shaft between the trees
guides me on with quiet ease.

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A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

A Moment in Summer

A moment in summer
belongs to me
and one particular
honey bee.
A moment in summer
shimmering clear
making the sky
seem very near,
a moment in summer
belongs to me.

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A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

The Secret Song

Who saw the petals
drop from the rose?
I, said the spider,
But nobody knows.
Who saw the sunset
flash on a bird?
I, said the fish,
But nobody heard.
Who saw the frog
come over the sea?
I, said the sea pigeon,
Only me.
Who saw the first
green light of the sun?
I, said the night owl,
The only one.
Who saw the moss
creep over the stone?
I, said the gray fox,
All alone.

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A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

Spring

In the early part of spring,

You will hear, many birds sing.
They are just letting, the rest of us know,
Winter is over, spring melted the snow.
You will notice, a beautiful scene,
The trees will slowly, begin to turn green.
Chipmunks and bunnies will come out and play,
Bears will no longer, sleep during the day.
It's exciting, when spring finally arrives,
Bees will make honey, inside their hives.
So much to do, so much to see,
Insects and animals, are happy and free.

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A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

The Universe

There is moon, there is sun

Round which we circle every year,
And there are all the stars we see
On starry nights when skies are clear,
And all the countless stars that lie
Beyond the reach of human eye.
If every bud on every tree,
All birds and fireflies and bees
And all the flowers that bloom and die
Upon the earth were counted up,
The number of the stars would be
Greater, they say, than all of these.

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A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

Until I Saw the Sea

Until I saw the sea

I did not know
that wind
could wrinkle water so.

I never knew
that sun
could splinter a whole sea of blue.

Nor
did I know before
a sea breathes in and out
upon a shore.

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A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

Little Daffodils Spring From The Grass

Little Daffodils Spring From The Grass

Red, yellow and a tinge of orange
The carpet of flowers bringing colour to my life
And I feel the summer's warmth melting my heart.

Near the oak tree the birds chirp a song

A song of blessing to those around
Little do we know, what the song means
But it touches our soul till we're tingling deep within.

I look around to admire God's creation

And wonder, how much time I took off a day
To sit in my garden and enjoy the breeze
The whispering flowers
The swishing of leaves
And the sunset that leaves swirls of blue and orange in the sky
Colouring the horizon
Colouring my garden.

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A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

Oh Butterfly Where Do You Go

Oh butterfly where do you go,

when the sunset itself does show?
I see you quite frequently
when the sun shines overhead,
But where are you when I am put to bed?
The days are long,
the sun is strong.
Still then I see you flutter,
with wings as soft as butter.
Yet when shines the moon,
why am I alone?
I hear not soft wings
beating upon my windowsill,
nor do I see your pupae
upon the miller's mill.
Where do you go at night
when the stars are shining bright?
In the daytime I see you flutter
'round and 'round,
from the sky to the ground.
Oh butterfly where do you go,
when the sunset itself does show.

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A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

Who Listens to Flowers?

They grow like little comets,

blazing through the blackened soil,
singing long-forgotten songs songs of death's demise,
of life's bright distillation
lighting the very core of time.
But who has ears to hear?
Who sits among the stalks
listening to the creak of growth,
the crystallization of each new cell,
enraptured,
convinced
that life conquers all?
They stream into our eyes
pouring ambrosial essence,
lean light,
pure and natural passion.
They nurse the soul
of this belaboured age,
singing a silent song once heard,
they sweep the sky's wide towers
heaving lakes with ease into the blue,
filling children's eyes with stars,
and breathing joy's pearled kiss
into each welcoming ear.
Who listens to flowers?
Flowers listen to flowers,
as do trees, laughing clouds,
rivers, lakes, and all
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A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

the glowing world unseen

within poet's hearts,
within those who simply take the time
to listen.

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A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

The Owl Never Told Me

The owl never told me
of the things the whispers said
as they were carried by the wind
through the trees above my head.

Now awakes the owl

wise in all his years
spreads his wings upon the wind
That whispers in his ears.

The squirrel never did tell me

of the things that he would see
as he watched the world from burrows
that he built up in the trees.

The squirrel returns to his burrows

high up in the trees
the branches bend and creak with time
He looks to the world and sees.

But does that mean I never knew

the prompts of conscience in the breeze
or guessed the sights of wisdom
only tops of trees can see.

The sun bows down his head in shame

high light begins to dim
the time is rainbow flavored clouds
as night time now begins.

I laughed all through the daylight hours

of truths I may have known
but the doubt I kept inside of me
kept them from being shown.

HORIZON sinks and pin hole lights

of stars begin to shine
I smile a feeble smile and think
Now this must be MY time.

I looked upon the wise man

and found him not so wise
as much as inspirational
and I cut him down to size.

A perfect balance between worlds

between lightness and the dark
between the owl and the squirrel
for it is SUNSET IN THE PARK.

I know I am no better
in fact it makes me smile, that
those who keep their thoughts inside
are forever viewed as "child."
The sun peaks high in afternoon
then he slumps down and sighs
and flashes shadows on the ground
casts darkness to our eyes.

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A Bouquet of my Favorite Poems of Nature and Inspiration

Bibliography

7 Poems to Remind You of the Beauty of Nature. Readers Digest. 11 Oct. 2016.
Web.
Carlstrom, Nancy. Midnight Dance of the Snowshoe Hare. Philomel, 1998.
Nature Poems. Inspirational Poems for Kids. 11 Oct. 2016. Web.
Nature Poems for Kids. English Poems for Kids. 11 Oct. 2016, Web.
Poems About Nature. Anita Poems. 11 Oct. 2016. Web.
The Classic Book of Best-Beloved Childrens Poems. Edited by Virginia Mattingly,
Courage Books, 1997.
The Random House Book of Poetry for Children. Selected and Introduced by Jack
Prelutsky, Random House, 1983.

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