Turtle Island Poems – 2

 Coyote Valley Spring – This poem was different than the others I have read. Instead of describing the negatives of the environmental destruction, the poem describes the things occurring in nature. This includes all of the animals, plants, and sounds. It also detailed the natural scenery including the boulders and mountains.

Front lines – I thought that Front Lines was an interesting poem. It talked about loggers and deforestation. I could relate to this poem more because I have seen television shows about logging companies and what they do. The poem talks about “drawing a line” which to me means that we should stop advancing on the natural forests for our needs, and should look more towards recycling and using what we have.

Control Burn- Control Burn relates to the history of America. Detailing about the Indians used to use our resources. Explaining how they used to burn the brush and make new trees. The theme is that we should follow our ancestors and learn to conserve how they conserved the environment for us.

Manzanita- Manzanita is the tips of fruit and will only open after a fire has passed. This poem describes the night and morning life in a forest talking about all of the animals that come out and all of the sounds that are heard. It also talks about a bow trying to strike an animal but it misses. The theme is that there is so much more to the forest than just trees, that there is life in the animals.