Earth Day Nature Poems- Time to vote!

Hello everyone!

It is now time to vote. Please pm me with your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices....
1st: 10 points, 2nd 7 points and 3rd 4 points

I will allow several days for voting... we have 21 poems... big challenge for Earth day!

If we have ties, I will step in and vote... 1st, 2nd and 3rd will have my final comments....

Have fun voting, these poems are breathtaking!

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Poem #1

And There Were Roses (Haiku)

And there were roses
when rain cleansed mans mistakes
of blood and fire

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Poem #2

Developmental Senryu

He surveyed the oak
majestic in massiveness
so many wood planks

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Poem #3

Mother Nature Needed Dad

I never went camping
with my dad
strange since he too
was in scouts
when he was young

His adventures of
drunken robins
head twisting owls
and rattler round-ups
were left behind
like childhood toys.

The years I spent in the woods
have never ended
nor are they all spent
in solitudinous reverie
but shared with children
my wife has blessed us with

My dad was my hero
but sometimes I wish
just once
we could have shared
eggs seasoned with ashes
but cooked together
in the wilderness.

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Poem #4

Moonchild

Maiden of the night a breath taking splendor
Outshines million of stars which blanket the sky,
Ocean her timeless lover dances to her melody
Natural is their love which will never fade or die,
Churning the hearts of those who sees her ethereal face
Halos a fiery desire to grow within love birds,
In one tender moment she takes them to a dream place
Lighting a trail to explore passion's unspoken words,
Destiny rests in her hand when souls lock in embrace.

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Poem #5

Lady Tempest

Her summer smile
hides behind a gray veil,
warm air blows
while clouds relish
seeing rain grow
to dampen the day;
Wind wails...
a wicked joy
sets sail,
Earth is about
to taste her turbulent ways;
A mighty storm slays...
Lady tempest
at play,
Her summer smile
breaks through the veil
and reveals tomorrow's aches.

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Poem #6

She loved me here
among the ravenous mountains
and storytelling meadow and
whistling grass.

Here I learned the tribal
voice of the wind, how to
speak without words,
her sun-kissed fingers dancing
en pointe on the nape of my neck.

The fire in her eyes
lit the sun in my soul.

All the past storms flew
from my ashy lungs.
I no longer wore my shame
as another skin, instead I
breathed wildflowers and
hopeful promises.

In nature, I had no reason
to become a burial site.
I blossomed, like stars on
sky and land;
I became a legendary love.

The energy - the light we radiate -
will take us everywhere.

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Poem #7

Fireflies

We've waited all our young lives
for this moment,
Answering the call
of a humid south Georgia evening,
Armed to the gills
with every contraption for safe captivity.

Begging mothers
for empty mayonnaise jars
Hurriedly poking holes
with the ice pick into each lid
Like banshees, screaming
we file out into twilight
Dad's fishing net swooping through the air
grasping at flickering light.

For a few moments,
stars have fallen to earth
So we gather as many as possible,
Lining our dressers with nature's nightlight.

Misinterpreting their Morse code
for an evening of fun.

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Poem #8

A Stained Reflection
.
Raindrops skittered,
trailing down those wet fingers;
gazing through the crystal panes,
a silver silhouette-
hair entwined in ribbons of mist
holding onto the only knot,
ringlets shone in dews of dawn.
In a dress of milky white,
she is the familiar haze;
shining through the bed of clouds,
she is the wishful star;
breathing in the life of darkness,
she is the flawless night.
She wilts. She rebirths...
...like a desire.
She is a scarlet bud,
awaiting to bloom
in an ethereal realm,
with a pendant she holds together...
the pendant of her devotion...
unanswered...
abandoned...
She is a living reverie...
...a story, told...
She is, but a tainted nature...
our reflection...of a world.

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Poem #9

Earth day - The miracle planet (Acrostic: all prompts in order)

An anchored timeline
Creates an imminent collision
On its predestined path:
Remove all doubt;
Never will this place in
Space, be the same again...

Larva and splintered rock
Erupted a hundred miles up
And fell about the planet.
Viewed by future minds -
Earth in its infancy,
Set with the ingredients of life.

With Water came
Atmosphere and a chance
To stir up primordial soup,
Earth's unique method of
Rendering a perfect potion.

Feed the correct data
Into a master computer - voila
Reality, a contrast of emerald and opal:
Earth, the miracle planet.

Trees filled continents,
Rivers flowed into
Estuaries finally
Entering the big vast blue
Sea of open possibilities...

Birth was virtually unseen,
In the form of molecules
Rendering the ability to
Duplicate themselves:
Species striking out their code...

Frail as a breath
Life was intent on life;
Onward, always
Working nature forwards.
Each duplication
Ran minute changes, that
Seemed insignificant in isolation.

So, over many millions
Of years, these nuances of
Intricate, yet pivotal difference
Led to scales leaving the sea...

Minute amphibians crawled
On slithery stomachs -
Seeing land for the first time;
Standing on virgin beaches...

Searching inland, life continued
To evolve, the strongest
Overcoming the weak;
New types of species,
Efficient in reptilian design.

Weather is warm and sticky, creating
Incredible giant hand like ferns,
New plants and flesh devoured by
Dinosaurs with purpose...

Roaring creatures, some chase
And others run:
Interesting how strength
Never rests on its Laurels...

Scales become skin, fur and feathers
New species exploding into life all
Over this beautiful World - hold on;
Where's the fly in the ointment?

Mother Nature has a way
Of balancing imbalance
Understanding the
Need for dramatic change.
Time to chill, time for,
An -
Ice Age:
Nature wiping the
Slate clean.

Mammal's time in the sun has come -
Earth is primed for such life;
A new species: Homosapien.
Dreams of wonder are possible,
Originating from
Working minds and thumbs...

Reproduction, development and
Invention blessed man with tools,
Vocabulary, art, literature;
Everything that anything could
Really ever wish for; so why...

Fight each other,
In hand to hand battles with
Swords, guns and bombs?
Hiroshima etched death in fossil rock.

Only man with the power to
Really make a difference - doesn't!

Famine should not feature
In a world of plenty;
Sharing resources and living in
Harmony is the only
Intelligent solution, however this will
Not happen, whilst we lust for
Greed in all its forms...

Growth of the virus which
Ravages our world
And depletes resources
Stares back at us from our
Selfish mirrors across the World.

See into this possible future:
Unresolved global conflict
Nuclear weapons deployed...

Mutilated planet, all species
On the brink of extinction.
Only the blind sighted
Noble man could have achieved a...

Nuclear global holocaust
Injecting poison into millions of
Generations of
Humans, animals
Trees - the whole damn lot!

Stupid humans need
To think: Use that 'working mind'
And change behaviours to
Really make a difference:
Save our Earth before it's too late!

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Poem #10

Beautiful You
Possession ceased,
The sun adjourned from the east.
Retires its radiant crown,
Lurks in the west throne bound.

The moon vanquishes the dark,
Aided by the countless stars.
Each winking as fireflies of light,
Making tracks visible to sight.

Inspired by the sun the moon shines.
Spotless it seems....which is its pride.

SPLASH!
The waves bounce.
Juvenile hearts pound
With all might...every ounce,
Nourishes the soil,
Washes off shells,escangot ,brute foil
And the hollow rook,
Architecture of young lads- dreamy eyes look.

Possession ceased.
Time's for the sun to rise in the east.
For souls to sense the delicate passion of its front.
For animals to begin their ecstatic hunt.
For flowers to rise from snooze.
For owls to be dead to the world and ooze.
For me to wrap up and pray to the Almighty above.
For the one who's reading this- to grin fresh and new at the gift of beautiful "You".

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Poem #11

drop of life. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . high

~~~Within a~~~ . . . . . . . . . . . .p
Cumulonimbus cloud way. . .. u

in a blue-azure
my ice feathered
form
f
..l
...u
.t
.....t
..e
r
...s
Along with,
my brothers (and sisters too)
we merge, we become
DENSE
&

d
e
c
e
n
d

The air is light
the view, a
magnificent
sight.

Me, we, all of us
^
Family,
One and all
~~Drift~~
....d
....o
....w
....n

{{rotating}}
s-l-o-w-l-y
l-o-w-l-y-s
o-w-l-y-s-l
w-l-y-s-l-o
^
In a wee bit
~~of a~~
Dizzy state

~spinning~
until
frozen forms
warm -
transform...

It's a thought,
you know,
but we are
actually...

harnessing
The miracle of
----LIFE----
That's in:
Crystal clear
~WATER~
Reflective
-----like a
Mirror rorriM
-----like a
Glance into
the past,
to where we
could not

-stop-
For we were not...

Back to
-start-

Back to
the-very
---1st---
~drop~

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Poem #12

Acorn Shell

There's a season for everything under the sun
a reason the shell around the seed are as one.
The genetic code is in place from the parent
Some environments are so seemingly errant
the offspring wishes to remain safe and secure,
but the shell must be shed from the acorn for sure
or the mighty oak inside cannot ever grow.
Many of us are a lot like the nuts we know.

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Poem #13

Gaia Exposed.

Beneath our feet her heart's core pulses,
shaping time itself around each tiny beat of life.
The acorn sprouts,
the bulbs set forth their questing shoots to find the sunshine.
Drinking in each ray with thirsty need,
their greed outweighing
forms so slender as to bend or break if tousled by a breezes softest kiss.

She nurtures all.

And in her mother's love we each lay blessed.
As mountains rise to tower over valleys filled with floral sculpture,
life takes wing with songs to echo through the seasons,
meant to fill even the coldest hearts with joy.

If only we could see her tears.

As with each passing year her assets stripped and bared
by all consuming greed we bleed her dry.

Raped.

Despoiled.

Her bubbling streams of tears becoming
torrents in a hopeless bid to wash away the grief and shame.

She was our world.

Yet in the rush of life it seems that she has been forgot,
And soon her vital heart will cool and harden,
leaving just a barren star to hang suspended and unwanted
in the galaxy with all our broken dreams.

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Poem #14

Birth

There's a cloud of heaviness
wrapped around her heart,
a non-pregnant pause lingers
among the bellies of the forgotten,
and she dips her toes in riverbeds
as a reminder of a refreshment.

There's stones overturned now
covered in moss, much like
lost smiles and quiet tales never told -
without little ears to soak them in,
these efforts feel pointless.

She finds her comfort in the rolling sound
of rocks on that riverbed she sinks into,
a hushed moment of silence
for the unborn, the emptiness
and a minute of grieving,
before she focuses on the sunshine.

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Poem #15

Before the Dawn...

Crawling upon leaves
too early to fear the beams-

clusters of dewdrops.

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Poem #16

Rainbow Garden

Paint me a rainbow garden, Seer
where you can rest from your career
Natures construction in extreme
create the magic of her scheme

Rainbow pallet of natures brush
paint masterpiece forever lush
Red and orange reflect sun set
Blue of skies and seas water jet

Indigo reflects clear night sky
Yellow the brightest butterfly
Grass, trees bushes in greenest hue
Violets dance their Spring debut

Yes paint a rainbow garden here
return my land to yesteryear
retrieve your energy afresh
then rest in Madam Natures flesh

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Poem #17

The Way a River Flows:

There cannot always be rainbows in the sky
otherwise they'd lose their beauty - their importance.

And every time it rains flowers are sure to follow
as they poke their pretty little heads up and out
from underneath their cozy blankets of grass covered dirt.

There is something enticing about fire
raging through dry brush in California summertime
that leads to springtime births of hummingbird friends
and birds' nests popping up like polka-dots dancing.

I know it melts the snow as winter begs not to die
and I'm well aware how leaves write the eulogy
so effortlessly as the days slowly countdown
to a new year - but only seasonally.

Sometimes, if we're lucky it can also be
emotionally. Like when moss covers stone
and cypress facing north only - until spring comes.

Sunshine blocked by windy days
and clouds stars die in our hands

as moonlight fades the way you did.

But darling, spring is here - finally

you can shed this skin and bloom again.

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Poem #18

Four seasons in one poem

Spring

Clearer skies and cuckoo calls
coalesce to tempt the daffodils
from their dozy dreams.
Branches begin to birth new buds,
doggedly braving the post-February frosts,
despite their early infancy...
...and green is gingerly given back
to a land that lacked
the generosity of colour.

Summer

Look! little bluebells peep
all about the shaded canopy.
Ivy creeps around the trees,
wrapping brown bark in emerald greens.
Buzzards soar effortlessly on thermals,
over fields of golden corn
and sparkling rivers of sapphire blue.
A butterfly lounges lazily on a
happy head of a buttercup,
whilst Mr Bumble rubs his little
knees clean of the pollen
that escaped his little bindles.

Autumn

Now the sun stares from an azure sky
with crisp and blustery mornings
comfortable in their rust-coloured
scatterings of the fallen amber
and cinnamon leaves.
Tentatively, the trees seem to release their clothing
with a dread and despair of the nudity
they will have to face the cold with.

Winter

Cold, crystalline diamonds
glimmer off the spiders' webs -
the world has gone to sleep
under a blanket of white
that crunches with a special kind
of crispness underfoot.
Colour seems to have cooled
with the sun's listless light,
leaving the world seamlessly
stark in its frozen wonder.
The daffodils' dalliances with the earth
are dreams that are far distant now.
The land is cold; the land is dormant;
it will wake again soon.

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Poem #19

Mother Nature

One day she found a clod of earth
shapeless and without form or worth
She took colours from the rainbow
mixed and painted them artist show
flowers and trees she then gave birth

Reached deep into blue cloudy skies
filled them with birds and butterflies
with insects wasps and honey bees
her gentle breath became the breeze

She added oceans filled each cloud
with water so that once endowed
stars of its own would there reside
with sea weeds fish and jelly's glide
white corals then rise towers proud

Last of all created creatures
every shape, colour and features
that walk, dig, slither run or hide
all are children in Mothers mind
lessons taught she is the teacher

Glorious earth a paradise
artists masterpiece at no price
Yet there's a virus that's manmade
called cruelty and human trade
consumes their world with rabid eye

Mother Earth she weeps both eyes dry
her heart is wrenched she cant deny
action to take she must decide
for trees and creatures all worldwide
this human virus must now die

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Poem #20

A Caterpillar [ Rondeau ]

When flowers bloom, I'll see you soon.
I'll be a bug in a cocoon;
all set to fly towards the sky
to search for you - my butterfly.
Just wait for me, be like the moon

that comes at night and stays in tune,
remains in sight till afternoon,
for me to yearn to fly up high
-------------- when flowers bloom.

Just give me time, may be till June,
when I come out of my cocoon
I'll be like you - a butterfly,
prepared to fly into the sky
to hear with you how our love croons
--------------- - when flowers bloom.

Rondeau: aabba aabR aabbaR

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Poem #21

Sleeping among the stars.

As I sleep among the stars of my unfurnished mind
I toss a moss covered stone
through wind and rain
witnessing hail blowing a gale
this wind clearing cobwebs from my earlobes.

My aim is off in slumber-land
as it is in this river of regurgitated anguish
I call 'everyday'

Suns set, switching places with solemn moons
grasping my temples, squeezing hard
then running slowly through desecrated meadows
I shake birds from trees
hoping to free new ideas.

I have dreamt of gorging on acorns
cursing leaves suicidal tendencies
desperately fighting water with fire
burning my fingers off in the process.

I have tossed snow off mountain tops
dragged flowers from their beds
disturbing the contented soil.

Have you ever tried to remain in the subconscious
each night offering fantastical nightmares
as a mixed up brain feeds grass to fish
then fishes for grass amongst dying embers.

The welcoming embrace of sleep
disturbed by another day
arriving before I am ready.

I have gotten the privilege to read these as soon as they came into my pm box...

and I find myself reading these again.... Im truly proud of this group of talented writers... these nature poems are just WOW.

We have beauty here today, and these folks have honored Earth day to its finest!

Im in shock... and so excited!!

Andrea, what a hard choice. Each is fabulous.

These are indeed very beautiful...
Till when is the time for voting?

You can vote now....I'll end voting sometime next week

This has been made so hard right now for each one is a gem!

Ouch

These are AMAZING. I'm sitting here sipping my latte just enjoying myself with these beauties ;)

So far I have it narrowed down to six lol

Same here

Okay, I've been hard at it now for 2 hours and have whittled it down to 20!
The bar has been raised so high that a space suit is needed to reach it. Lol

I knew when I posted these beauties, voting would be difficult...

A few ideas have filtered in...I'm using both ideas. Thank you members!

We will be having 3 HMS....and I will be doing special mentions.,..such as most creative, best form ect....all 21 poems are deserving....

Ohhhhh votes are coming in and this is anyone's challenge....

this fricking rocks!

^that's a wonderful idea.
But I'm still not able to decide...

I just can't decide even though I must have read them through about 20 times so far. Think I need to take a break for 24 hours then come back with fresh eyes.
They are all just too good!!

I love these poems. Each entry is deserving in some way or another. However, I have found my three and sent in votes and comments (as pledged on the original thread). Good luck to all, these are hard choices to make.

Sorry Andrea I missed you had to comment on each vote you made shall I do that and send it across

Em, I took the commitment to comment on the top three poems to mean my own choices. It could alternatively mean the top poems chosen at the end.

Larry is correct Em....however all comments are posted and appreciated

We have a poem that is on fire.....

Humms to the tune ( The roof is on fire)

The poem, the poem, the poem is on Fire!

and the other 20 are racking them up... this challenge is HOT!

Burn baby burn!

(It was mentioned in the last challenge I ran that members enjoyed my commentary during voting... so Im doing it again with this one :-)

Lol Andrea, this is so awesome. You do a great job hosting and keeping the energy through the roof. I agree it feels like it took me forever to get my votes narrowed down!

Haha Andrea. I'll get it sorted.

I seriously can't choose..... lol.

I can't choose either. This is seriously worse than any judging week, having to choose. All beautiful poems.

I have chosen and voted but felt rather hollow afterwards; I felt 18 other poems deserved my vote too.

It's so difficult. ...

That one poem has been caught up with, by two other poems....this getting wild!

It's a bouncy house! !!

Im with Ben on this. All deserve credit.

How many people have voted so far?

How long do we have? I have it narrowed down to 7. lol

Britt, you have until late Friday to vote

11 people have voted so far Larry :-)

I know of 5 people working in their votes. Lots of folks are doing comments as well..

We need more. ..this is such a big challenge

Gotcha covered, Andrea

Whoot, thank you Larry! !!!

We need to do comments too..? Sorry I didn't realize it just added my votes...sorry!

Yes it has been tough to choose but from the time the poems were posted have been reading and re-reading breaking my head on which to vote!!!

Oh no Meena, you don't have to....that's optional

Do you know what I dislike about writing comments?

it's that time flies. Whoever gave wings to time, must have gave them to time so that time would be free to fly at its own pace but my time flies too fast when I am writing comments... other than that I'm having fun.

I'm glad we have till Friday to turn the votes and comments in.

You are too cute lucero,

Yes, late Friday night... Around midnight p n q time

WOOO HOOOO I VOTED. That was harder than writing a poem lol

Giggles!!!!

Keep the votes coming everyone.

This is anyone's win. ..the votes are all over..so fun!

Posting the results in 24 hours!

This is so exiting and has inspired such a crop of amazing poetry. Its been one of the hardest things I have ever had to do (creatively speaking) to judge and pick only three. It shows just how difficult it must be for the weekly P&Q judges. Thank you so much Andrea for arranging the contest and for pushing it along. Am sending you a cyber hug and flower seeds (its cruel to cut flowers) Milly xx

Finally sent my votes in, although it was the hardest choice I have had to make on this site yet.
I must say congratulations to everyone who entered and a heartfelt sorry to all those for whom I didn't vote.
Thanks Andrea for giving us a chance to see how much fantastic talent is present here on P&Q. :)