Since the beginning of written word, nature has been a recurring theme in all forms of writing, but especially in poetry. Poets such as William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley and Robert Frost all utilized natural and environmental themes in order to invoke feelings from the audience.

In honor of Earth Day, four CSULB poets have drawn inspiration from the environment and carefully composed a variety of poems addressing the earth as well as the current state of the planet.

Nature's Hospitality a poem by Tomisin Uwuole Photo credit: Ashley Ramos

Nature’s Hospitality

By: Tomisin Uwuole

nature’s my playground

the earth brings me home

branches gently beckon at me

leaves to fingertips

the sun as always, dazzles Me.

the lake offers light drips.

nature’s my playground

the earth brings me home

nature’s my playground

and earth is our home.

Rite of Spring a poem by Rachel Jacobs Photo credit: Ashley Ramos

Rite of Spring

By: Rachel Jacobs

Let us riot

Like the

Rite of Spring

This is not

Joyous;

We hurt her

Foundation.

And spring cannot

Return amongst

Your petty war.

The flowers will

Bloom,

The trees will

Blossom.

But there is

Nothing beautiful

In this

Return of Spring.

Big Sur a poem by Lillian Li Photo credit: Ashley Ramos

Big Sur

By: Lillian Li

There is a certain quality of divinity amongst the trees,

The feeling of a place glorious in its own existence, untarnished and completely still.

When I sit amongst the trees I contemplate the absence of humanity:

This is the absence of humanity.

This is what it means to be unmarred by the stain of its folly

To be exalted, mighty, and alone.

I look out toward the end of the world, and I often think of the limitations of man

Of an expanse of impossibility

Of milky sea swirling around a solitary spire of rock.

I would love to stay,

And become one with the trees.

Of decay, and morning dew, and an existence unscarred

Nature is rarely so kind.

I am the Wind

By: Yoanna Kollin

I’m at the beach slowly withering away until there’s nothing left but sand and water, sand and water, sand and water. That’s all there ever was.

Maybe, I’ll see where the tide takes me.

What am I but a girl on the beach waiting.

Waiting for what? Waiting for the ocean to swallow me up and then spit me back out only to be miles away from where I was.

Waiting till the sun sets and the moon rises, and there’s only stars in the night sky, bright beautiful blissful stars. The stars I see, the stars I speak, the stars I breathe, The stars.

The stars want me to wish, but how can I wish upon a star when there’s nothing to wish, nothing to wish, nothing to wish, nothing to wish. Absolutely nothing, and when they fade away, so do I.

Just an echo on the planet, making one last

attempt to be heard, yelling as loud as my vocal range will take me, screaming for anybody out there, when nobody’s out there, nobody at all, even if they were, they wouldn’t hear, they wouldn’t see, they wouldn’t acknowledge me.

They would be on their phones, typing a tweet, sending a message, replying to a goddamn comment that they probably won’t remember the next day, look i tried, I tried to call out to you, I tried to get you to hear me, I tried too hard. And if you try to find me now, you won’t be able to, I’m gone. I am the breeze in the air, always there , yet still invisible, you had your chance, and you wasted it. But don’t fear, now you’ll hear me roaring in the sky, and I’ll be so loud that everyone will know, and that’s all I ever really wanted, for people to know me. I am the wind

The Sun's Embrace a poem by Tomisin Uwuole Photo credit: Ashley Ramos

The Sun’s Embrace

By: Tomisin Uwuole

At the tail end of sunset

the moon beckons at me

like a lullaby to a child

I’m spellbound in her gaze

her afterglow,

a soft reminder of the sun’s embrace,

as her aura gently caresses me till dawn.

Our Mother a poem by Rachel Jacobs Photo credit: Ashley Ramos

Our Mother

By: Rachel Jacobs

Please,

Stop your

Bombs.

End her

Suffering.

Let her

Trees

Grow wild

In our

Hearts.

Eat from

Her soil

And drink

From her

Rivers.

She is

The heart.

We keep

Breaking

Her heart

With war,

Greed,

And destruction.

Love every

Beauty

She gives;

Because

The stars

And quartz

Keep losing

Their glimmer.

End her

Suffering.

Love your

Mother

Nature.

Earth Day inspires poets to reflect on the environment and the importance of keeping the planet healthy. Photo credit: Christal Gaines-Emory

Through the personification of natural elements such as the sun or the wind, lively diction, and political references, CSULB poets Tomisin Uwuole, Rachel Jacobs, Lillian Li, and Yoanna Kollin have expressed their love for the Earth and the importance of preserving the planet.