Rainy Day Poetry Fun

Last Tuesday, our volunteering at the nature center was canceled because of the rain, so we regular class on campus instead. Even though the rain had stopped by class time, the ground was still too wet and muddy for us to work.

In class we were met with candy as usual and a collection of poems picked out by Professor Williams. One poem that stood out to me was "The Tree Agreement" by Elise Paschen. The poem centers on a dispute between neighbors over a tree that one person calls a “weed tree,” while the speaker argues that it has been there long before them. Instead of seeing it as something that should be removed, the speaker views it as part of the natural environment that deserves to stay. To me, the poem highlights the idea that we should respect nature as something native and already established, rather than something we control or get rid of when it becomes inconvenient.

What made the class more interesting was that we turned the poem into a short skit. It was funny to see how creative everyone got with it. My group compared the situation to The Lorax, while others poked fun at each other by pretending to be their classmates.

Even though we were not outside that day, the poem still tied back to what we have been learning through volunteering at the nature center. It was a reminder that nature is not just something we visit, but something we are constantly interacting with and making choices about.