Arkansas Arts Academy HS Photo by Rebecca Cannan
If You Are Quiet, You Can Feel It
This poem was created from nature reflections submitted by participants of National Water Dance 2026 from all across the United States.
Curated by Arsimmer McCoy
Writer-International poet-Educator-Creative programmer-Cultural worker-Performance-collaborative artist
Learn more about Arsimmer McCoy by visiting her website.
https://www.arsimmermccoy.com/whoiam-1
Learn more about Arsimmer McCoy by visiting her website.
https://www.arsimmermccoy.com/whoiam-1
My feet firm on the concrete and toes on the sewer grate
The afternoon rain gushes along my ankles and sieves through my toes (There’s a richer metaphor here,
something like a broken dam, but I can’t quite find it…
The afternoon rain gushes along my ankles and sieves through my toes (There’s a richer metaphor here,
something like a broken dam, but I can’t quite find it…
Participants’ Nature Stories
We all have a moment, maybe more, but a time when we understand deeply our connection to nature – nature in its many forms and reveals. These are those moments that participants of National Water Dance 2026 shared. From these many stories lines were selected, connected, and created into the poem you just read. As in life, our random connections become the creative web that supports the world we are all part of. And one we can imagine and co-create. What is your story?
What would the bay want us to know
Amanda Gabaldon – Tampa Bay, Florida
what would the bay want us to know
I wasn’t always carved out of rock and sand.
There were moments in time where I was dotted
I wasn’t always carved out of rock and sand.
There were moments in time where I was dotted
Dancing with the water
Sionainne O’Neil – Washington
Dancing with the water,
Dancing for the water,
feeling the waves of movement…
Dancing for the water,
feeling the waves of movement…
Wild Violets
Rebecca Cannan – Rogers, Arkansas
Listen closely and you will hear tiny voices rising from the forest floor
Bright, vivid, deep purple, strong…
Bright, vivid, deep purple, strong…
My work is a conversation with the world
Alexandria Davis – Michigan
My work is a conversation with the world, weaving threads of social and interpersonal commentary…
Nature is the grand majesty of all life – she IS life
Kerri Brock – Oakville, Ontario
Nature is the grand majesty of all life – she IS life. Mother of all. She is perfect in her rhythms, resplendent in her forms, divine in her melody…
An Early Fall Day I arise and look outside to see a bluebird sky and the trees along
Barbara Oesterlin-Heath – Whitefield, ME
An Early Fall Day I arise and look outside to see a bluebird sky and the trees along the field’s edge swaying to a gentle breeze.
I walk to the door and crack it open just enough to feel the cool fresh air…
I walk to the door and crack it open just enough to feel the cool fresh air…
Currents began to flow Into my awareness
Christine Little – Hallowell, Maine
Currents began to flow
Into my awareness
When Five years old
Tidal waters crashing along the rocky coast of Maine
Into my awareness
When Five years old
Tidal waters crashing along the rocky coast of Maine
Desert Movement Arts Found Poem
Constance Clare Newman – California
Desert Movement Arts Found Poem
Layers of silver and gold
danced deep in a canyon
high above my Native land…
Layers of silver and gold
danced deep in a canyon
high above my Native land…
Time slows, contracts
Mary Spring – Miami
Time slows, contracts
I am in between measurable time
past present and future collide
I was, I am, I will be…
I am in between measurable time
past present and future collide
I was, I am, I will be…
Stepping into the mud, it covers my foot and embraces it like a hug
Dale Andree – Miami, FL
Stepping into the mud, it covers my foot and embraces it like a hug.
Pulling my foot out takes effort and balance and creates the sound of escape.
I dip my hands into the mud, reaching deeper each time…
Pulling my foot out takes effort and balance and creates the sound of escape.
I dip my hands into the mud, reaching deeper each time…
They never knew I walked along the old railroad
Kellie Lynch – New Haven, CT
They never knew I walked along the old railroad path where the grass was overgrown and the wild life enjoyed the taste of skin in the summer.
A Brief History of The Grand Canyon
Patton White – Atlanta, GA
A Brief History of The Grand Canyon
Patton wrote this poem in the zoom workshop that you led. He was so moved by your influence…
Patton wrote this poem in the zoom workshop that you led. He was so moved by your influence…
Uni- VERSE/ ONE SONG
Smile Garcia – Los Angeles,CA
My cells dance as they embrace each cosmic wave of emotion.
In movement, we transform.
In movement, we transform.
Musings of a Wistful Wanderer
Gaynelle Goslin – New Hampshire
Shh, If you are still, you can hear it
Whisper of wind through long leaf pine
Tremble of ancient hemlocks…
Whisper of wind through long leaf pine
Tremble of ancient hemlocks…
Three Inches
Gaynelle Goslin – West Palm Beach
Three inches – that’s how much the sea has risen since I moved into my Florida home 25 years
ago. 6 inches – That’s how much it has risen since the 1950’s. 8-10 inches…
ago. 6 inches – That’s how much it has risen since the 1950’s. 8-10 inches…
I smell the dampness of the earth where it comes up
Tianna Morgon – Kansas City, Missouri
I smell the dampness of the earth where it comes up, kissing the rocks, mixing its mist with the oxygen.
The sound of the crickets greeting not me, but it – I am a witness and audience member – to their show…
The sound of the crickets greeting not me, but it – I am a witness and audience member – to their show…
it was my grandma’s 80th birthday
Alexandra Abelson – Miami Arts Charter – Miami, FL
Over Thanksgiving break 2025 it was my grandma’s 80th birthday. She flew me and my family to Hawaii.
We went on a long 4 mile hike through the bamboo forest, pointing out flowers, the water balls,
and watching the birds land on the trees…
We went on a long 4 mile hike through the bamboo forest, pointing out flowers, the water balls,
and watching the birds land on the trees…
I used to collect caterpillars and trap
Kisura Williams – Miami Arts Charter – Miami, FL
I used to collect caterpillars and trap them in my hand so they could tickle my palm…
My favorite nature moment was when we went to Umatilla this year
Hailee Woods – Miami Arts Charter – Miami, FL
My favorite nature moment was when we went to Umatilla this year. We went canoeing on this beautiful lake…
I decided to spend the day at the beach surrounded by the people I love
Sidney Richardson – Miami Arts Charter – Miami, FL
On my 15th birthday I decided to spend the day at the beach surrounded by the people I love…
One night, I was on the beach with a friend and we sat quietly in the sand beneath a pitch dark sky
Sofia Felibert – Miami Arts Charter – Miami, FL
One night, I was on the beach with a friend and we sat quietly in the sand beneath a pitch dark sky.
In the distance, a thunderstorm rolled in, and flashes of light lit up the sky.
In the distance, a thunderstorm rolled in, and flashes of light lit up the sky.
We spent five days in cabins on campgrounds near the woods
Andrea Diaz-Garcia – Miami Arts Charter – Miami, FL
During a school trip in November to Umatilla, we spent five days in cabins on campgrounds near the woods.
On the last day of the trip, we had a bonfire late at night…
On the last day of the trip, we had a bonfire late at night…
You snap a picture
Lori Yuill – Houston, Texas
You snap a picture
Do you hear the sirens calling? Please don’t be afraid
Can drowning also feel like not drowning?…
Do you hear the sirens calling? Please don’t be afraid
Can drowning also feel like not drowning?…
I’m reminded how deeply water surrounds my life.
Leymis Bolanos – Sarasota, FL
Driving through Bradenton with the Manatee River to my north and the Gulf of Mexico to the west,
I’m reminded how deeply water surrounds my life…
I’m reminded how deeply water surrounds my life…
The wind blowing and whistling through the trees as they sway
Heather Gleason – Deland, FL
The wind blowing and whistling through the trees as they sway,
bend and break in an unchoreographed and unpredictable manner as the storm blows in…
bend and break in an unchoreographed and unpredictable manner as the storm blows in…
My feet firm on the concrete and toes on the sewer grate
Kristin O’Neal – Atlanta, GA
My feet firm on the concrete and toes on the sewer grate
The afternoon rain gushes along my ankles and sieves through my toes…
The afternoon rain gushes along my ankles and sieves through my toes…
I looked up and saw four red balloons, two white, floating away
Andrea Agostini – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
I was in the water. I looked up and saw four red balloons, two white, floating away.
someone had just let them go. I watched as they drifted, staying proximal for a while…
someone had just let them go. I watched as they drifted, staying proximal for a while…
Water is life, a symphony in motion
Lara Segura – Albuquerque, NM
Water is life, a symphony in motion, A dance of consciousness, an ancient devotion. In the silence, we gather, hearts open wide, To honor the magic that flows deep inside…