The Wonderful Water Cycle

Here is a poem I wrote to enhance a lesson on the water cycle:

The Wonderful Water Cycle

Written by: Erik Petersen

                            Introduction

I am a drop of water shining brightly and so blue

I’m going on adventures high and low, you can come too

And keep me company as I go up and then come down

Hold out your hand and catch me when the rain comes to your town

                      Evaporation 

The sun came out this morning and I started feeling hot

It felt just like the time that I was placed inside a pot

A woman turned a burner on and soon I felt the heat

And several minutes later I was boiling, it was neat!

My body started feeling light, I soared into the air.

I looked into the pot and thought, “Wow, I was just in there!”

But Today I’m in a puddle on the ground and once again

I feel the heat, I’m feeling light I want to fly. Just then

It happened I was soaring up into the vibrant sky

But this time I did not stop. No! I kept on rising high

I feel lighter than a butterfly I haven’t got a care

The sun has turned me into gas I weigh less than the air

My mother told me that this process is called evaporation

And then I will become a cloud, she said that’s condensation.

 Condensation

As I rise into the atmosphere so weightless and so pure,

Suddenly I’m changing, into what, I am not sure.

The temperature gets colder the higher that I fly,

This sets the scene for something keen, watch me give it a try!

I begin to feel a heavy pull from the bottom and the top,

My body splits and separates, I’m no longer just one drop.

I’ve formed many small versions of myself yes it is true,

My friends and I join together and a cloud starts coming through.

We are the fluffy white formations you can see up in the sky

With your imagination we become pictures in your eye

Sometimes we may be gray and take away the sky’s bright blue

When this occurs, you just might see precipitation fall too.

What’s that you say? You’ve never heard that crazy word before?

Then I shall tell you what it is as we continue on our tour.

Precipitation

So what does precipitation mean, let me try to explain

In words that you can understand, well basically its rain!

So there I was inside a cloud a raindrop oh so light

I waited until the temperature and pressure were just right

Then suddenly I sensed a change and I began to swell

My body got much heavier until all at once I fell

Along with all my happy friends we raced as we went down

And felt the wind rush pass us as we headed toward the ground

It was such a rush to see the Earth from high up in the sky

It’s really something every drop of water here should try

I saw the bright blue ocean where my mother watched so proud

She knew her son was part of that descending raindrop crowd

I fell and fell and fell and fell, how long I do not know

Sometimes I felt I was falling fast and other times seemed slow

But then it came I hit the ground with a peaceful little splash

I was once again a puddle on the Earth’s surface at last

This time I did not linger to be soaked up by the sun

I wanted to continue having water cycle fun

                                 Infiltration

I landed on a patch of grass and felt a strange sensation

I was slowly soaking through the ground, this is called infiltration

So slow I sank through layers of wet earth past rocks and soil

I wondered what would become of me for all my time and toil

It was dark and scary where I was, had I made a bad decision?

But suddenly I felt so pure, clear as 20/20 vision

The rocks and earth had cleansed my body of all impurities

I felt brand new, I felt reborn, I felt fresh as a spring breeze

But all the work that I had done just made me want to sleep

I would never see the sky again, never see the hills so steep

I was stuck forever inside the ground, too tired to try today

To get back to the surface where my mother and brothers lay

I would just close my tiny eyes and dream of what had been

Maybe inside my little head I could snuggle with my kin.

Transpiration

I had a dream that I was being sucked up through the air

Inside a greenish sort of straw, without a fear or care

I knew that I would once again return to see my mother

And eventually fall once again from the sky with all my brothers

I did not want to wake from such a happy fantasy

When suddenly I was filled with a fantastic sense of glee

For I was not just dreaming, no I was really rising high

Inside the body of a tree that reached up towards the sky

I remembered now my mother said this was called transpiration

It occurred because all plants and trees need regular hydration

That means they need to drink water so they can grow up strong

I would not be trapped in the ground for good, I was happy to be wrong

As I rose on higher through the tree I felt such great relief

Then suddenly I emerged upon the surface of a leaf

The sun was oh so hot that day, I once again felt light

I knew I was becoming gas and I would fly just like a kite

Back up into the open sky to form a cloud once more

My life would always be this way, it was what I had been born for

The water cycle was beginning over once again

I was happy I would see my mother and all my other friends

So now I am a gas again, I am soaring towards the sky

And now I’ll say goodbye to you, but when it rains you can say hi!

I’ll kiss your hand with water drops, but not long will I linger

So say goodbye to me as I fall slowly from your fingers.

                                    The End?

                                    Or the Beginning?