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This poem is in a collection of poems on comfort, collected after September 11, 2001. The poems in this collection
have a certain quiet and peace surrounding them, and this is a good example of that.
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Strengthen the Things That Remain
By Nancy Wood
Rainbows still live in the sky and
green grass
is growing everywhere. Clouds have familiar shapes
and sunsets have not changed color in a long time.
Thunder
still follows lightning and spring comes after winter's misery.
A tree is still a tree and a rock is still
a rock. A warbler
sings its familiar song and coyotes howl
in disconcerting harmony. Grasshoppers still hop
to
their own music,
bees still buzz with excitement, and squirrels
still jump like acrobats. Mountains still contain
mystery
and oceans surge with eternity. Bears still sleep in winter
and eagles fly higher than other birds. Snakes
have an affinity
for the ground, while fish
are content in water. Patterns persist,
life goes on, whatever rises
will converge.
Do what you will, but strengthen the things that remain.
Heard, Georgia. 2002. This Place I know: poems of comfort. Cambridge: Candlewick
Press. ISBN0763619248.
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Extension
Have the students either share outloud or on paper one or two things they count on to remain
the same, even when other things in their life are changing. The meaning each student will interpret from this poem
will vary greatly. Some may have experienced very hard experiences already in their life and some may have had very
little change or difficult times. Encourage each student to share what means the most to them, and be sure to share
something yourself.
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