NaPoWriMo Day 22: Today is Earth Day, so I would like to challenge you to write a “pastoral” poem. Traditionally, pastoral poems involved various shepherdesses and shepherds talking about love and fields, but yours can really just be a poem that engages with nature. One great way of going about this is simply to take a look outside your window, or take a walk around a local park. What’s happening in the yard and the trees? What’s blooming and what’s taking flight?

My great fortune to have a city park at my doorstep
The vast sky of blue to the west beyond
Kisses my face in the midday
And its pinks warm my heart with the falling sun
Fresh cut grass tickles my feet and stains my knees
As I pick polished rocks from the pond
Dandelions spread their seeds
Making wishes possible
Cherry blossoms line the street like confetti
Celebrating yesterday’s rain
The buzzing I hear could be bees or allergies
People walking their dogs or laughing babies
Meanwhile weeds push through the cracks in my head
Letting in light further than it has ever been
And roots of contentment are settling in
All of this I survey from my front yard
Yet I feel it on the inside, too
Love is blooming like super rainbow fertilizer

~Just L (April 22, 2015)