As Mark Nepo notes in his book “Drinking from the River of Light”
The purpose of art in all its forms is to make life real, to remove everything that gets in the way, and to help us live.
It is my delight to share this poem
The Art of Creeks
When the sun sets,
the creek turns
shiny yellow,
which I paint.
When the moon
is in the sky,
the creek is shiny white,
which I paint.
Slithering water
keeps going,
keeps going.
While under
the water,
the shiny gold rocks
live.
The water is their blanket.
The creek of coldness
shakes your hand
as it turns
blue.
Quickly I pull out
with cold
ripples
where I was.
The winter chills
the quiet creek.
That blizzard
rushed away
the noise.
I need the
Spring
to come.
By: Lyle Loder Friedman, Age 8
Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania
Teacher: Jane McVeigh Schultz
1996 River of Words Grand Prize winner