Poetry anthology example

This poetry anthology is a collection of poems, which shows the people's view of nature. As I like the view of the nature, I chose this topic. I think people have their points when they watch the Mother Nature and describe the vision in their mind. I prefer the descriptive poems that give me the image of the nature: the trees, lakes, mountains, the four seasons and etc.

As I started my research, I bought a poetry book written by a local Californian-- Bruce Smith Deam Slama. Most of poems are talking about her feelings about her cats and the nature. Because I am not familiar with other American poets, I pick her "Rainbow" as my start point. After I searched the Internet, I got a lot of poems related to nature. I picked up "Snow Flakes" written by Emily Dickinson because it reminded me the wintertime. Another reason is that I know Emily is famous poet in America. "The Breath of Spring," "Autumn," "The Falling Leaves and Life" and "Snowflakes" are from "Reflection of Nature" edited by Stacy Smith. Although I can't get the book, I like those poems. They all talk about season and weather. After I bought "The Mentor Book of Major American Poets," I found those famous poet names like Robert Frost, Walt Witman and Emily Dickinson. So I browsed the book and picked "The Sky is Low, The Clouds are Mean" from Emily Dickinson and "On the Horizon" from Stephen Crane.

I rearranged those poems in the following pages. The seasons are the first part of topic. Because the spring and autumn are best seasons in the year, I put "The Breath of Spring" first. It expresses the author's feeling about the spring. Next, "Autumn" and "The Falling Leaves and Life" give us the view of autumn and leaves some space for us to think about what the life is. Following are two "Snowflakes." The winter's beauty comes from snow. Stacy Smith and Emily Dickinson give us different view of the winter snow day. I picked "On the Horizon" because it is very short and simple. This poem reminded me the feeling of travel. With a few words, Stephen Crane gives a kinetic image of the mountains. Finally, Bruce Smith brings us the "Rainbow." It colorful description show us not only the beauty of rainbow in the sky, but also the reflection on the earth.

Nature is beautiful. As people see it, they may have different feelings. Seasons are changing. How about the life? Take your time to enjoy them.

The Breath of Spring

Shelley D. Sparks

The author described his experience in a spring. We can see children play outside. The flower blossoms in spring. We smell the scent. The lark sings a song outside the window. What a wonderful day! I have to go outside to enjoy the springtime.

The Breath of Spring rushed by me

Through the kitchen window pane

And with it came the giggles

Of the children down the lane.

My lace curtains breathed in and out

And swirled the perfume from a rose

That climbs along our backyard fence-

The sweet scent delights my nose

The sweet melody of a lark came in

The notes hung very near

And parted my lacy curtains

And softly whispered in my ear

Spring entered through my window

Much to my elation

I had to lay my kitchen tea-towel down

And accept an invitation

Autumn

Stacy Smith

The autumn wind blows off the leaves. The color of tree changes to red and gold. It prepares us for the coming winter. Let us enjoy the last colorful season of the year. The harvest pumpkin will give children a gift for their Halloween. Autumn reminds us that the end of year is near.

Autumn is the time when leaves fall to the ground.

A whispering wind can be heard from all around.

The many shades of green change to shades of red and gold.

It helps to prepare us for the upcoming cold.

The campers try to enjoy their last camping trip of the year,

For they know the warm weather will soon disappear.

It is a time when families come together and enjoy a long trail,

And admire the beautiful colors, some bright and some pale.

When the leaves are on the ground parents rake them in a pile.

Then children jump in it and play with a smile.

All the pumpkins of orange will lie in a patch,

For the children to pick and find costumes to match.

Autumn is a reminder that another year will soon end,

Cherish this lovely season and make it your friend.

The Falling Leaves and Life

Shelby M. Forrest

The author is a retired school principal and WW II veteran. He uses the falling leaves to imply the life cycle. In autumn, the leaf falling is natural. We see how the leaves fall down to the earth. Some leaves may stay on the trunk a little longer. But finally they all fly down in the wind. The life is a cycle. The old gives up their place to the new.

All colors have faded on the weather-worn leaves,

Which, reaching their lives' final stage,

Relinquish their holds on the ancient oak tree,

And succumb to the pressures of age.

A gentle breeze catches them one after one

And tenderly nudges them around

To appear they are tiptoeing about in the air

While they flutter and float to the ground.

A few leaves tenaciously cling to the tree,

Although they are shriveled and dry,

But the others they follow and soon spiral down

To land on the pile where they lie.

The leaves have returned to the earth whence they came,

Enhancing the soil they have fed

And providing the space in their brief cycle span

For new life to appear in their stead.

Snowflakes
Stacy Smith
The author describes the snowflake falling from the sky. It shows a peaceful and quiet picture. Reading this poem remind me the snow day. I could not see this scene in California. We are in winter; spring will come after.

Winter snowflakes coming down,
Slowly floating to the ground;
Each tiny snowflake seems to stay
On this brand new December day.

It almost looks like glistening lace
Falling down at a steady pace;
As silent as the falling leaves,
The only sound is the whispering breeze.

Snowflakes, slowly dotting out the past,
Blanket now with gentle hands
The warmth we shared beneath this tree,
When Spring had come with dreams of ecstasy.

Snow flakes

Emily Dickinson

Emily Dickinson (1830 - 1886) is one of America's two preeminent poets of the nineteenth century. This poem shows her action when she saw the first snowing. In the beginning, the author could keep herself calm to watch the snow flake. As long as the snow falling, she could not cover her joy. She just jumped out to dance on the white snow covered ground. Its imaginary description is very attractive.

I counted till they danced so

Their slippers leaped the town,

And then I took a pencil

To note the rebels down.

And then they grew so jolly

I did resign the prig,

And ten of my once stately toes

Are marshaled for a jig!

The Sky is Low, The Clouds are Mean

Emily Dickinson

After I searched my book, I found this poem. The author shows us the scene of a snowy day. We could see that snow flakes float down from the sky. The flake didn't follow one way. It's impossible to predict how the flake goes its way. The dilemma is always existing.

The sky is low, the clouds are mean.

A traveling flake of snow

Across a barn or through a rut

Debates if it will go.

A narrow wind complains all day

How someone treated him.

Nature, like us, is sometimes caught

Without her diadem.

On the Horizon

Stephen Crane

Crane, Stephen (1871-1900) is a American novelist and poet. When I read this poem, I recall my trip to Las Vegas. We drove our car toward the mountains. The feelings are exactly like the poem described. As you drove close, the mountains are like walking to us. The noise you heard sound like "We come." It simplicity also attracts me.

On the horizon, the peaks assembled:

And as I looked,

The march of the mountains began.

As they marched, they sang,

"Ay! We come! We come!"

Rainbow

Bruce Smith Deam Slama

Bruce Smith is amateur poet. I bought her book from De Anza library. The book has the signature of the author. As a Californian, she started her poet life recently. I found her poems are very colorful. This one associates the rainbow colors to things we see in our daily life. The varieties of nature are like the rainbow, which are made from different colors. When you watch the rainbow you enjoy the wonderful scene. On the earth we see the reflection of the rainbow.

ORANGE pumpkin of Autumn leaves

RED cherry of Spring flowers

PURPLE plum of Winter sunset

BLUE berries of calm lakes

GREEN lime of new grass

BROWN mocha of bare earth

Plus

BLACK berries and WHITE coconut

Of night sky of fresh snow

All

Make delicious varieties of pies-a rainbow of delights.

Works Cited

Smith, Stacy. "Autumn" Reflection of Nature. Ed. Stacy Smith. Philadelphia: Xlibris, 2000

Sparks, Shelley D. "The Breath of Spring" Reflection of Nature. Ed. Stacy Smith. Philadelphia: Xlibris, 2000

Forrest, Shelby M. "The Falling Leaves and Life" Reflection of Nature. Ed. Stacy Smith. Philadelphia: Xlibris, 2000

Dickinson, Emily. "The Sky is Low, The Cloud are Mean" The Mentor Book of Major American Poets. Ed. Oscar Williams and Edwin Honig. New York: Penguin Putnam,1962. 201

Crane, Stephen. "On the Horizon" The Mentor Book of Major American Poets. Ed. Oscar Williams and Edwin Honig. New York: Penguin Putnam,1962. 227

Slama ,Bruce Smith Deam. "Rainbow" Captivating Cats and other poems and stories. Pleasant Hill: Small Poetry Press, 2003. 83

Updated Sunday, October 24, 2004 at 1:37:48 PM by Gretchen Himes - himesgretchen@fhda.edu
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