A Little over 50 years ago, a student turned in a paper that overwhelmed me. I don't recall the exact asignment, or if there even was one, but the high school junior boy simply placed a piece of paper on my desk as he left the room one day. It turned out to be a poem. A fine poem by anyone at any age. This boy, Donald Close, of Bettendorf, Iowa HS, had written a lot of good essays and other compositions, but this was the first verse that I was aware of. As I recall, Donald was really "into" topics that dealt with nature. It seems to me that quite a few BHS students, especially boys, leaned toward nature's offerings.
The Coral
The coral is a creature that lives beneath the sea;
And some of it has never been seen by the likes of you and me.
The coral is a funny thing, as one can plainly see.
It takes the shape of brain or tree, most anything it can be.
Its twisting arms and curly hair are really quite a sight,
But only parrot and barracuda fish can sleep with it at night.
It withstands the mighty blows of Atlantic and Pacific storms,
For unconsciously it's building edicifes in unruly forms.
Yes, never will you find a builder that knows more art than he.
He builds out into the windward side, and forgets about the lee.
Donald H. Close
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