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Always
I’ve seen a thousand summers
And a thousand winters
I have seen engagement rings
And day-old babies
And great –great grandparents
I have felt hugs and frustrated kicks
Small knives and gentle lips
Moccasins and tennis shoes and bare feet
Claws and tears.
I have heard laughter and songs
Silence and thunder
Birds and wolves
Rivers and
Hills being born.
I have smelled fresh earth
And sparrows’ nests
And picnics.
I have grown from nothing to tower above the elms and oaks,
The humans that have climbed me
And tickled me with their pocket knives.
I have watched the mortals of my land grow,
Live in dens or teepees or small houses
And die.
I’ve always been here.
But now there’s a red “X” painted on my trunk,
And I smell gasoline around me
And see noisy trucks trampling the rabbits’ warren.
There’s a blade coming toward me
Roaring like thunder
And I have but these seconds to say good-bye to my woods.
Claire McNear, Age 13
Kent Middle Schol
Kentfield, California
Teacher:Peter Gavin (2001 ROW Teacher of the Year)
