Julie and the forest
earth sits in harmony / with the luminous
blue skies / and the leaves smile / at one another
as the sun shines bright / before their cousins / the branches
The world feels empty at first / it materializes / grows into something brand-new
A serenade / to the better days / of hope / and the deers' prance / along the forest / hello
to their loved ones / and goodbye / to their prey
Juile walks / into the forest grounds / birds fly / squawk / and run for their lives / Segregation from the ones before her / and the others in the village / feeling of unbelonging in both worlds / Why can’t we live with the animals or the others in the village? / Julie asks her parents / who mumble incoherent excuses / and Julie does not understand / understand the world / such a cruel world
Julie sits / stares at the sky / and cries
she doesn’t seem to belong with the creatures of the forest /she doesn’t seem to belong with other humans / rejected / sheltered away/ walls of branches holding us away from each other / what must one do / hope / & to break down / barriers between human and animal equality?
Julie doesn’t know.
Please give a detailed explanation about the meaning and main idea of this poem.
This poem was inspired by the how far apart humans have become with nature, (the plants, the animals, etc), and how a young child, Julie was just experiencing such. However, Julie is also "cast away" from other members of their community for reasons of segregation (racism). It looks at the injustices of racism and our behavior to animals through the lens of a young child.
Please explain your writing and thought process regarding this poem.
I originally wanted to the poem "Julie and the Forest" to be about a young child in nature and just enjoying it, but then I incorporated hits of exclusion and the barriers that are present between humans and the "creatures of the forest."
Why did you choose to write this poem?
I choose this poem because I wanted to try out eco-poetry, but it turned out differently but that's okay.
Do you have any tips or anything to share with the youth writers who may be reading this? (optional)
Keep writing! :)
You can do this.