April was not only Earth Month, but also National Poetry Month. The Colorado Springs Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Department recently held a Leave No Trace trainer course for the new Trails Open Space and Parks (TOPS) seasonal staff members. In celebration of these two themes, we decided to initiate the course with an activity called the Exquisite Corpse Technique.
During this icebreaker, the six participants as well as the two instructors each contributed one line to create a poem. As the poem was passed through the group, the writer only saw the line written by the person before them.
The guiding inspiration for this poem was nature and the visuals the outdoors inspire for each member of the group. Altogether, the participants of this course created a beautiful poem, which proved that although we may not consider ourselves poets, we all have the ability to draw from our experiences and create something beautiful.
Poetry has no definite form and can be enjoyed and created by anyone.
We hope park visitors will find inspiration in our parks, trails and open spaces this month and use their experiences to connect to these places through creativity and perhaps through poetry.
The authors of this poem are Lacey Sprouse, T. Leabres, Erik Krizman, Elaine Collins, Elaine Freeth, Kelsey Duquet, Hannah Shaffer, and Ava Johnson.
In and out, waves and breath. Salty. Still.
If you create a poem inspired by nature, we’d love to read it on Facebook or Instagram. Tag us at @CoSpringsParks.
Lacey is the Trail Technician Lead for the TOPS Stewardship Program. She enjoys spending time outdoors with her dog, Moose, and helping others discover the Leave No Trace Seven Principles.
Lacey Sprouse is the trail technician lead for the City of Colorado Springs Trails, Open Space & Parks division (TOPS). This content first appeared in The Gazette’s Cheyenne Edition and is reprinted here with permission from Pikes Peak Newspapers. It is part of a monthly column titled, “Ranger Ramblings.”