The Woods So Beautiful

by Riley Matson Graham

original art by the author

Oh the woods so beautiful

The trees stand tall

And the colors stand out in a crowd

A long path out deeper

Oh yes the woods so beautiful

My sister and I would play in the woods in all the seasons. In winter we would slide down the steep slick hill that led down to the path

whoosh

We would go all morning before school. We would be devastated when our mom said to come in.

In the spring sometimes we would go down in the woods and go down to the little creek at the middle of the woods. It looked like a valley in the middle of nowhere. One time we found a big purple ball that we brought back although our dog poped it.

POP and it was loud!

In the summer we would walk through the woods to clear our minds.

In the fall we would take a long rake like my mom’s big black rake. Then we would reach far down and pull up.

ugh

we said as the leaves came up and we would rake them into a pile. Then, the best part, jumping in the leaves. It was so fun, as fun as a birthday party.

The woods was always a good woods to play in, jump in the leaves, slide down the hill, go down to the creek and just take walks to clear minds, and find a purple ball that your dog pops. Oh yes, the woods so beautiful.

---

Riley is a third grader at Tenth Street Elementary School. Riley’s poem was part of the winning team submission from Tenth Street Elementary School in the Plant Love Story Challenge hosted by the Phipps Conservatory and Botanic Gardens in Pittsburgh, PA. You can see Riley’s Tenth Street teammate’s artwork as part of our 2022 Valentine's #PlantHeartArt].