Trees and Natural Innovations Poetry from Year of The Poet (Vol 29)
Featured in The Year of the Poet May, 2016 Volume 29.
What Can We Learn From a Forest?
Some learn to identify
recognizing the spark in plants
trees and birds
Others the arts
drawing, painting or photography
still others learn about peace
calmness, and spirituality
For some, the forest
their inspiration
fueling the latest technological advancements
In the natural world
no waste
we can learn
the ultimate recycling center
betters our own processes
Trees Originate Human Innovations
Velcro
snap snap together
wrapping together a community
around Swiss engineer Georges de Mestral
patenting nature
burs sticking to his pants
Opel and Mercedes
reflect the ways trees and bones
distribute loads
German researcher Claus Mattheck
observes nature
A fan created by Pax Scientific
borrows patterns from swirling kelp
a nautilus’ fractal pattern and whelks
moving air resourcefully
A Qatari desert revived
saltwater-irrigated greenhouse
use condensation and evaporation tricks
gleaned from the nose of a camel
and redwoods gathering fog
Deciduous trees
form a canopy catching
reflecting
evaporating monsoon rains
from over the heads of 300,000 people
in India’s first hill city
all the while acting like an engine
driving the monsoon inland
moistening the drought
Banyan tree leaves
persuade designers
of water-dispatching roof shingles
while water divertment systems glisten
inspired by harvester ants
directing water away from their nest
What Would Nature Do?
Nature full of clues
climate change
can change
we can become producers
of ecosystem services
translating nature’s architecture
transform human design
Nature upcycles carbon
harnessing the sun’s might
creating sparks of power
pumping water
Beauty and powerful energy
strikes a pose
one Poisonwood Tree
sheds strong bark allergens
a reddish Gumbo-Limbo tree
contains the antidote
side by side
they grow
The discovery step
listen to nature
interview the planet’s
flora and fauna
30 million living species
only 1.4 million have names we know
Let’s create
a Biological Peace Corps
two year volunteers
inventory biodiversity
we need people who know
all there is in the branches
of nature’s tree
sharing with all an ecological literacy
immersing ourselves
echoing nature
with a cross-fertilization of ideas
Stewardship
in wild and settled places
the natural outgrowth
of a biomimetic worldview
Originally published in The Year of The Poet (Volume 29) at http://www.innerchildpress.com/the-year-of-the-poet.php on May 1, 2016.
