What Is Green?

What is Green?

Written by Janelle Spiers
Inspired by Mary O'Neill

Green is a pinwheel 

Spinning light in the breeze,

A child’s bright plaything

Dancing with ease. 

Green is a forest of trees. 

Green is sprouts, 

Coming up in the dirt. 

Green is a lime 

Green is a fly, 

A gem, a lush lawn, 

A blinking eye. 

The sound of green is 

“Swish! Swish! Swish!” 

Wind blown through leaves; 
A secret wish. 

Green is greed –  

A spreading blight, 

It wants a prize 

With terrible might. 

Green is lettuce 

And old moldy cheese, 

A sock, a book, and grass-stained knees.

Green is a romance 

Blissful and fair; 

A gardener’s pride

In the open air. 

Green is a basket 

And a bumpy toad 

Green is a race, 

Down the road. 

Green is joy: 

A patch of rich soil, 

Unfurling leaf, 

Repaid for hard toil. 

Think of landscapes 

And sights you have seen… 

Hard jade, lucky clover,  

If they couldn’t immerse in 

Green…