“Song Of March”

Patricia L. Cisco

With winter's footprints in the past,

and snows begin to melt at last.

With longer days and shorter nights,

the wayward winds of March take flight.

Four winds she holds within her grip,

then hurls them from her fingertip.

Her woolly, fleecy clouds of white,

she sets in skies of blue delight.

Her wild bouts of gusty breezes

roar through valleys, hills, and trees.

That high pitch whistling song she sings

awakens earth and flowering things.

She tears a hole in heaven's sky

so sun can shine and rain can cry.

She gently calms as spring draws near,

as blooming daffodils appear.

She welcomes April showers in,

then gathers up her dwindling winds.
Now her long journey home begins,

knowing she'll be back this way,

upon a cold, late winter's day,

when nights grow short

and days grow long.

Listen for her whistling song!

 “Dogs go to Heaven”
By Megan Osburn

You're the best friend I could ever ask for,

The one I can talk to.
You listen to everything I have to say;
I'm really going to miss you.

You're growing old

And can't walk as fast,
But don't you worry,
I won't forget about our past.

I love the comfort you offer,

Except when you chewed up my shoe.
But it's okay, we all make mistakes.
I'm really going to miss you.

We loved to play ball,

Chasing it down the hill.
You're the hairiest of them all,
But you still get the chills.

It's almost time to go.

Don't worry about me.
Just do it slow,
And forget about all the fleas.

I love you with all my heart,

The best friend I'll ever have.
I'm really going to miss you.
I love you, and that will never change.
 “My last Apology”
By Manraj

I am sorry that I hurt you; you were my best friend.

I still can't believe that our friendship faced a tragic end.

I owe you an apology, and I guess this is the right time

I am a criminal; hurting you was my crime.

I never wanted to let you down, never wanted to see you frown.
It's been a month I've been having this feeling and I am so down.

It wasn't my intentions to make you sad.

It's that all the things I did for you went bad.

Now you hate me; that was very hard to accept.

I am feeling burdened, like I have a debt.

Let's be honest, one month went like a whole year.

I wish I could put life in reverse gear.

Punish me, forgive me, that is what I need.

I just want to undo my wrong deed.

I can't sing; I can't dance.

All I need is another chance.

I just want you to know that I still care,

And I want to make everything clear and fair.

Please forgive me; that is all what I can say.

I don't want to live like this; it's becoming harder day by day.
 “Storm at Sea”
By Amar Qamar

CRASHING waves... SMASHING seas...

Bringing sailors to their knees.
As they struggle to save their lives,
Hoping and praying help arrives.

The stormy seas as dark as coal,

Preventing the sailors from reaching their goal.
Battered and bruised, but still they fight...
Staring ahead into the dead of night.
Rocking and rolling as they try to stand...
Hoping against hope that they soon reach land.

Bleary eyed from lack of sleep.

Down in their cabins, huddled like sheep.
As they're rocking and rolling down beneath,
Weary sailors above resist with gritted teeth.

Hours later, as the storm starts to dissipate,

It leaves a calm tranquil sea in it wake.
The veteran sailors know the battle is over and they have
won...
As they contemplate other storms yet to come...
 “I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud”
By William Wordsworth

I wandered lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced; but they

Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A poet could not but be gay,
In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.
 “Nature’s Way”
By Alora M. Knight

Is there anything as tranquil

As a brightly glowing jonquil
That stands in sweet serenity,
A part of nature's tapestry?

A flower that never questions why,

The rivers flow and birds will fly,
Content to fill part of the plan,
To beautify the world of man.

If we would only realize

We, too, can help to glorify,
To find within each passing day
A happiness along the way.

A loving hug or cheerful smile

Can help to make a life worthwhile.
If all would lend a helping hand,
We soon would have a world so grand.
 “Winter’s Wrath”
By Patricia L. Cisco

Winter's sleep so close to death,

piercing with his arctic breath.

Brittle, naked limbs stretch high

in the icy pewter sky.

Bitter chill and stinging wind,

quiet earth grows gray and grim.

Polar pillows full of snow

hover over valleys low.

Veils of frozen crystal falls,

cascade over mountain walls.

Squalls and drifts of sparkling white,

glistening brilliance in the night.

Winter, with his wicked wrath,

leaves blinding beauty in his path!
 “Spring”
By Camille Gotera

When the cold, harsh winter has given its last breath,
When the sky above shows life instead of death,
When the claws reaching to the frozen sky become decorated with
leaves,
When the animals -long in hiding- scurry from trees,
We know winter has ended.

When the frost on grass is replaced with sweet dew,

When the fields become dotted with flowers, reminding me of
you,
When the lonely silence becomes filled with melodies,
When you feel warm air, erasing bad memories
We know winter has ended.

When the hard, bare ground becomes painted with green,

When the frost-bitten air becomes fresh and clean,
When the coats and boots are all stored away,
When the playgrounds become occupied again with child's play,
We know winter has ended.

When you hear the pleasant sound of children's laughter,

When the air is filled with joy- long sought after,
When the world is filled with sunlight, brighter and longer,
When the song of Mother Nature becomes stronger,
Spring has begun.
 “Seasons”
By Michaela

Winter is cold, with gusts of tumbling snow,

When rain falls down and nothing ever grows.
For children, it's the snow that they desire
And cups of cocoa in front of the fire.

When winter's gone, the grass grows green again.

Roses and tulips sprout with bright green stems.
The bees are buzzing, the birds are singing.
Sheep are grazing and cow bells are ringing.

And then the sun starts to shine too brightly.

It's so hot that fans are put on nightly,
And so then it's off to the beach or pools
Where people swim about just to keep cool.

All the leaves on the trees turn golden-brown,

And when on the ground make a crackly sound.
In autumn a lot of money you make
From clearing backyards of leaves with a rake.

Each season has its own goods and its bads,

But since they are all different I am glad!
 “The Tree”
By Paul T. McMahon

Once a tree spoke to me in words of color and grace.

It said to exist it had to persist in its purpose to have its
place.

In hues of green it said it had seen many a year and season

With interesting features like other creatures, which added
branches of reason
.
Diversity flourishing, nature nourishing participants on
life's stage.
Constantly changing and rearranging turns the
evolutionary page.

Death and birth for mother earth, two sides of the same
coin.
Are lessons learned when the tree is burned? In front of
the hearth they join

To warm their feet in its radiant heat it protects and it

shelters,
And mother earth's womb feeds its seeds to once again
shade when summer swelters.