Friday, November 14, 2014

Famous Short Poems Hiking Themes

By Christa Jarvis


Throughout the ages, there is virtually nothing that hasn't been recorded in poetry. Today, computers make it easy to jot down ideas and cut and paste, rearranging them until pleasing rhythms and thought patterns are achieved. Internet sites accept poems from anyone, opening the doors of publication once controlled by publishers. Many famous poets have written about hiking, but it's fun to read short poems hiking oriented by less well-known people, too.

A hike is different from a walk. A walk can be through a parking lot, around a mall, on a sidewalk, or through a community park. Hikes almost have to be in the woods and/or the mountains. Walking is good for your health. Hiking is good for your soul. On a walk, a bottle of water is refreshment. On a hike, it may mean the difference between making the summit and being carried down.

Hiking immediately calls to mind leaving pavements behind and going where nature is unspoiled. If asked, most people would say that the scenery should include woods and mountains. People go out on week-ends and feel rejuvenated. The really serious hike along the Appalachian Trail. Some even make the round trip from Georgia to Maine, following the spine of several mountain ranges.

Anyone who likes this pastime will know what Gerard Manley Hopkins meant when he wrote of 'dappled things.' Sunlight falling through leaves onto the trail, fallen logs speckled with fungi, and the gleam of multi-colored pebbles through running water recall passages of his poetry.

Stephen Crane, who wrote 'The Red Badge Of Courage', also wrote poetry. He speaks of 'the march of the mountains', an idea familiar to anyone who has seen the misty Blue Ridge or the clear-cut Rockies spread out in majesty. Robert Frost is famous for his poetry about life in the New England countryside. He wrote a poem called 'The Mountain', which has an Old World flavor and will evoke vivid pictures in the mind's eye of any reader who hikes.

Art has been inspired by the world of nature since history began. Early cave pictures show people and much more lifelike animals. Poets throughout the ages have written about stars, trees, mountains, oceans, lakes, and rivers. One of the most unique and beautiful voices in American poetry belongs to Emily Dickinson, a reclusive resident of Massachusetts. She wrote many poems about bees. One of them, titled 'The Bee Is Not Afraid Of Me', is obviously set in the woods far from the center of town.

Reading poems about hiking might inspire people to put their impressions into words. Hiking, even while it might make people feel small compared to the vast sky and towering mountain peaks, has significance, and many readers like to share in the thoughts and memories hikers bring home.

Knowing how people have felt through the ages about natural beauty encountered back of beyond helps hikers give shape to their impressions. That is valuable, even if they never write short poems of their own.




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