Copyright 2025 Alder Publishing

Children Whose Thoughts Grow Flowers

 

poems for the young at heart

For our grandparents, parents, and all of our relatives, who were once children also.  

 

Copyright 2015, 2025, Alder Publishing & The Sierra Alder Authors

The authors being

Mary Donahue, Ed Arten, Margaret Mauro, Antonio “Papa Bear” Martines, Joseph Domingez, Amadaes Baj, Elizabeth Byrnes, Drake McGilberry, Patrick Guidry, Issa Joone, Minaki Mato, Daveen DiGiacomo, Art Peterson & Walter Schults 

The artists being

Walter Schults, Margaret Mauro & Ed Arten 

The editors being 

Nancy Hobbs- PhD in Educational Leadership, Mary Donahue, The Yakama Nation Language Program, Erina Ikuta Romanowich- lecturer of Japanese at Eastern Washington University & Ed Arten  

A special thanks goes to all of our family and friends who inspired this poetry! 

Introductory Poem, Perennials and Annuals

Perennials and annuals

A gift of nature

The garden flowers’

Nomenclature

Morning glories, birds of paradise

Gladioli, marigold

Know your zone for planting flowers

Wet or dry, warm or cold

Sage, begonias

Tulips, daisies

The gardener’s friends

Ladybugs and honey bees

The native paintbrush

Does inspire 

Songbirds to wake

At dawn’s choir

Orchids, cosmos

Christmas cactus

Music for plants

They hear you practice

Mountainous river valley

Seashore

Planting the flowers

We do adore

Rhododendrons, heather

Lilacs, poppies

You find the seeds

At your favorite nursery

Azaleas, clover

Buttercup, dandelions

Cherry, apple

And plum blossoms

Carnations, roses

Sunflower, peace lily

Name your favorite flower to give

For Mother’s Day or an anniversary

There are so many different

Types of flowers

A traditional garden

Beautifully empowers

 

Table of Contents

 Introductory Poem (Perennials and Annuals) 

1. Practice Makes Perfect

2. Children Whose Thoughts Grow Flowers

3. A Rainbow Song

4. Tiicham Tanamutimt, Earth Prayer, (The Many Blessed Beings)

5. Paint Box of the Earth

6. For a Garden ’Till We’re Old

7. The Essence of Writing

8. Shinrin Yoku, (森林浴), Forest Meditation

9. Old Noel the Goose

10. A New Christmas Story

11. We Can Make a Difference

12. A Beautiful Morning

13. A Dinosaur’s Blessing 

14. A Nursery for the Ponderosa

15. Brussels Sprouts

16. Polluticasaurusrecycleamidstus

17. I Like to Recycle

18. The Parameter Dance

19. To Wake Up Early in the Morn 

20. A Way to Cool

21. Aquamarine Dreams

22. Thanksgiving

23. You Have the Magic 

24. Universal Peace Sharing Together 

25. Gathering for the Winter

26. Goodwill

27. For Next Year’s Garden

28. The Harvest of the Autumn

29. Howlaween

30. The Turkey Feather Dance

31. Easter 

32. The Balance of Nature

33. The Poetrees

34. An Old Pair of Moccasins 

35. McCrogg the Frog

36. Beautiful Cloudy Days

37. For Our Grandparents

38. Petals Unfold

39. A Reel Called Dream

40. Innervision of the Stars

41. Storybook Characters 

42. Sustenance

43. Alder Branches

44. Sojourn

45. Nurturing

46. Song of the Mother

47. Guardian Angels

48. For Peace on Earth

1. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Early at the dawn

Of a brilliant new day

We wake up with a yawn

Doing chores before play

We sit down for porridge

Politely saying grace

Warming our bellies

Beginning our merry way

We are the bear family

We live in a cave

Practicing our music

So we’ll be prepared

We study the classics

And improvise with flair

Writing catchy tunes

So that we can share

Our gifts of rhythm

Melody, harmony, and patience

It takes a fair amount of time

To practice an instrument

We learn with the elders

Studying with diligence

The teacher’s advice

Increasing our intelligence

So please don’t be afraid

To sing a song that’s a fave

You will find that rehearsing

Is a way to know faith

Saving 

graceful notes

To practice

When it rains

2. CHILDREN WHOSE THOUGHTS GROW FLOWERS

 There are children whose thoughts grow flowers

There are children whose thoughts grow moss

 

There are children who are quite thoughtful and are seldom at a loss

 

There are children whose thoughts grow ferns

There are children whose thoughts grow trees

 

There are children whose thoughts are polite and are quiet when the baby is asleep

 

There are people whose thoughts grow feathers

There are people whose thoughts grow tails

 

There are people whose thoughts are prepared when leading others along old growth trails

 

There are children whose thoughts grow roots

There are children whose thoughts grow leaves

There are children who help out when needed, truly a good deed 

3. A RAINBOW SONG

Floating on a rainbow

Sifting through one’s mind

All colors of the spectrum

Falling as the sands of time

Floating on a rainbow

Drifting through the sky

With the clouds and the birds

Singing with them

 

Plucking the song, from an old harp

Performing the tune, with a fine fiddle

With the birds and the bees

And coyotes

Lawlookways and elves,

And tiny hob goblins

A ray of sunlight flows through the lens

Of a mere raindrop into a rainbow

4. TIICHAM TANAMUTIMT, EARTH PRAYER (THE MANY BLESSED BEINGS) (A Yakama Sahaptin poem)

  

Tiichám Tanamútimt, Earth Prayer

Pamts’íxwalá mishyú, an attentive ear is listening

1.

The many átawit blessed beings 

Whose tanamútimt songs are of virtue

Help a ttáwaxt family in distress

So that our dance may be held as kwyáamtimt, truth

Wixalxalí the spider is busily spinning 

A shtúkshtuksh web in an old growth tree

Elder Xwísaat, grandpa Iktomi is nearby

Keeping a concerned and wary eye

 

Earlynne the wren is near

Singing of the máytski, morn

Cischel, her mate replies

A duet they sing with átawit, joy

2.

Tl`álk, the deer 

Are gathering in the táak glen

Standing on unsteady wixá  feet

A múps fawn goes forth with hesitance

Through psúni alder leaves 

Of varying kápashaayat rainbow shades

The wislásaykt wind whispers poetry

Understood by those with íxwiáw, patience

3.

From the corner of Iktomi’s áchaash eyes

What has just been seen?

Spilyáy, the coyote crouching low

Craftily thinking no one knows

4.

Iktomi rapidly climbs the shtúkshtuksh web

& tsalihúum dances there in sudden dread

Earlynne sees this brave wak`íshwit soul’s plight

& changes her tanamútimt song to sudden fright

5.

Tl`álk looks up to catch the shadow

Something is lurking through táak, the meadow

Lmáma runs forth to find her child

While Xwísaat lowers his antlers in protective trial

6.

Spilyáy retreats in shame and guilt

Here are some tanamútimt thoughts that old trickster has revealed

What was I thinking, wíitmyu-? 

For those are the very lives of átawit sacred beings

Tonight I will make the family an ánpsh basket of 

Bow tie pasta, beefsteak tomatoes, kidney beans, and olives!

Washte!

5. PAINT BOX OF THE EARTH

Wild flower blooming in the sunshine

Wild flower growing up from the ground

Wild flower so pretty in the spring time

Wild flower on the mountain side

Wild flower, in the spring time

Growing in the meadow

Coloring in my mind

As the sun sprinkles yellow

 

A flower speaks to me

A rose made up in ivy

She speaks to me sweetly

Her fragrance heavenly

 

The sage is in full bloom

Brilliant purple in the sun

Whispering to me a song

A prayer that I do belong

 

Wild flowers in the forest

In the shelter of the trees

I become their welcome guest

As I settle in the leaves

 

Wild flower in the garden

Paint box of the Earth

Wild flowers in the springtime

Blooming in the fertile turf

 

6. FOR A GARDEN ’TILL WE'RE OLD

A ray of sunlight, together with the sea

The gnarled roots of an ancient old tree

The ferns and the thistle that grow underneath

The forest so great, that helps us breathe

 

Earth, within which grow the seeds of life

Soil, the root of truth that helps us grow

Mulch, the leaves which gravity does pull

Compost pile, for a garden ‘till we’re old

 

From all colors of the spectrum

Into a flower

The wind whispers gently

Haunting my soul

The lessons of life that teach us well

Remembering eventually that the well may run dry

Let us appreciate our gifts

For all the days of our lives

7. THE ESSENCE OF WRITING

The essence of writing

Take up a pen

Put your words to paper

Is how to begin

Write something nice

Cheer our heart

Inspiring thought

Is how we start

Righting a wrong

Writing a song

Correcting an error

Shouldn't take long

The story well written

Fiction or non

Now we must edit

To gain your aplomb

When the tale is finished

Let someone read it

To brighten their day

With humorous wit

8. SHINRIN YOKU, (森林浴), FOREST MEDITATION (A Japanese poem)

Walking amidst the trees 木々 (kigi) 

I hear the birds sing a melodious song 歌 (uta) 

Meditating with the leaves 木の葉 (konoha) 

I sit and write a forest poem 詩 (uta) 

Shapes of branches curve and intertwine 絡み合う (karamiau) 

They soothe and calm my mind 精神 (seishin) 

A squirrel peers out from its elegant drey りすの巣 (risu no su) 

What a beautiful way to start a day 一日 (ichinichi) 

The wildflowers 野の花 (nonoka) grow about

In the stream does leap a trout マス (masu) 

A toad ヒキガエル (hikigaeru) approaches near

Soothing なだめるように (nadameru youni) my inner fear 

The light 光 (hikari) dapples with the wind風 (kaze) 

My heart 私の心 (watashi no kokoro) is fully rested 休まった (yasumatta) again

9. OLD NOEL THE GOOSE

Well, one fine Christmas Eve morn

Ma and Pa set outdoors, as a new day had been born

They fed the cows, with oats and hay

Melted the water, as it had frozen that day

The snow burdened the branches

Of the trees in the glen

They had lost their leaves

As the autumn set in

There was the goose

So proud and plump

Our Christmas dinner

Right next to the stump

Pa tenderly carried old Noel the goose

For some odd reason, Noel looked quite amused

As Ma and Pa thought of a nice goose down pillow

Some quills to write

And the dinner at the table

Old Noel raised his beak

Looked them both in the eye

And sang this tune, even though he was shy

 

“Why Ma and Pa, how kind you are

To carry me like a babe in your arms

I can’t wait to see the kids you raised so well

Underneath the Christmas tree so beautiful

There is only one thing that I think you forgot

You left the other geese in the barn hay loft

Let’s gather them all, in the spirit of the season

We’ll share songs and games, what a wonderful reason

So a merry Christmas, cheerful Kwanzaa and happy Hanukah to all

I’m glad to have a family as caring as you, Ma and Pa!

 

Well, old Ma and Pa were quite surprised

They said what a grand idea, as they wiped tears from their eyes

And from that day forth, for every celebration

Ma, Pa, the kids, Noel, Mother Goose and the geese - were quite the sensation!

10. A NEW CHRISTMAS STORY

One bitter cold Christmas Eve

The reindeer were tired and near to the freeze

Mrs. And Mr. Santa brought them into the barn

And gave them their hay where it was nice and warm

With a twinkle in his eye old Santa said,

“Don’t worry about flying this night, old Mrs. Santa has magic for our plight”

She brought out her wand, magic that it is

And changed old Santa with a spry twist of her wrist

The pixels of light danced all around

And there was Mr. Santa, though not as plump & round

A grand old reindeer, as fit as a fiddle

Stood in the place where old Santa had been

With strength of character

Ready to deliver

All of the packages

Of wishes and dreams

Old Mrs. Santa said, let me go along

And I’ll change you back

So you can get down the chimneys

With your old patched up Christmas sack!

When they returned from their Christmas Eve journey

To brighten the lives of children who believe

That kindness and tact, diligence in fact,

Is the way to be happy  

As we share it with our friends and family

Yes, they found the reindeer quite healthy

Ready for next year’s journey

So you now know this isn’t the end

It’s the beginning of a merry new story

Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, Merry Christmas!