Oct 15,2014
Students in teams , write about their connection with Nature after hearing this in class :
Source : http://www.ncsu.edu/project/treesofstrength/poems.htm
DIALOGUE OF A MAN AND A TREE
The Man: Why do you grow so tall, way up there in the sky?
The Tree: I love the heights that are clean and free, where the lonely eagles fly, where the crane and the hawk can nest with me, and my friends, the geese, go by.
The Man: What do you use for food, tree to make you grow and grow?
The Tree: I live on a diet of Nature's best from my roots deep down below; I never go hungry, I rest and rest and wait for the rain and the snow.
The Man: How do you grow so strong, Tree, sturdy and straight and true?
The Tree: I live in the light of the sunshine and yarn for the sky's deep blue; the clean, sweet air is always mine, and the cold winds help me too.
The Man: How do you live so long, Tree, so much longer than man?
The Tree: I've geared my days with the Creator's ways since ever the world began. There is no death when life keeps faith with nature's wonderful plan.--
Vincent Godfrey Burns, Poet Laureate of Maryland, 1965
I LOVE A TREE
When I pass to my reward.
Whatever that may be,
I'd like my friends to think of me
As one who loved a tree.
I may not have a statesman's poise
Nor thrill a throng with speech
But I may benefit mankind
If I set out a beech.
If I transport a sapling oak
To rear its mighty head
Twill make for them a childhood shrine,
That will not soon decay.
Of if I plant a tree with fruit,
On which the birds may feed,
Then I have fostered feathered friends
And that's a worthy deed.
For winter when the days grow short
And spirits may run low
I'd plant a pine upon the scape
T'would lend a cheery glow.
I'd like a tree to mark the spot
Where I am laid to rest
For that would be the epitaph
That I would like the best.
Tho it's not carved upon a stone
For those who come to see
But friends would know that resting there
Is he, who loved a tree
-- Samuel N. Baxter
My heart is glad, my heart is high
With sudden ecstacy!
I have given back, before I die,
Some thanks for every lovely tree
That dead men grew for me.
V. H. Friedlaendeer
Here are few samples of students' works :
Students in teams , write about their connection with Nature after hearing this in class :
Source : http://www.ncsu.edu/project/treesofstrength/poems.htm
DIALOGUE OF A MAN AND A TREE
The Man: Why do you grow so tall, way up there in the sky?
The Tree: I love the heights that are clean and free, where the lonely eagles fly, where the crane and the hawk can nest with me, and my friends, the geese, go by.
The Man: What do you use for food, tree to make you grow and grow?
The Tree: I live on a diet of Nature's best from my roots deep down below; I never go hungry, I rest and rest and wait for the rain and the snow.
The Man: How do you grow so strong, Tree, sturdy and straight and true?
The Tree: I live in the light of the sunshine and yarn for the sky's deep blue; the clean, sweet air is always mine, and the cold winds help me too.
The Man: How do you live so long, Tree, so much longer than man?
The Tree: I've geared my days with the Creator's ways since ever the world began. There is no death when life keeps faith with nature's wonderful plan.--
Vincent Godfrey Burns, Poet Laureate of Maryland, 1965
I LOVE A TREE
When I pass to my reward.
Whatever that may be,
I'd like my friends to think of me
As one who loved a tree.
I may not have a statesman's poise
Nor thrill a throng with speech
But I may benefit mankind
If I set out a beech.
If I transport a sapling oak
To rear its mighty head
Twill make for them a childhood shrine,
That will not soon decay.
Of if I plant a tree with fruit,
On which the birds may feed,
Then I have fostered feathered friends
And that's a worthy deed.
For winter when the days grow short
And spirits may run low
I'd plant a pine upon the scape
T'would lend a cheery glow.
I'd like a tree to mark the spot
Where I am laid to rest
For that would be the epitaph
That I would like the best.
Tho it's not carved upon a stone
For those who come to see
But friends would know that resting there
Is he, who loved a tree
-- Samuel N. Baxter
My heart is glad, my heart is high
With sudden ecstacy!
I have given back, before I die,
Some thanks for every lovely tree
That dead men grew for me.
V. H. Friedlaendeer
Here are few samples of students' works :
