This week’s edition of Make it a Splendid Week invites us to think about respecting our environment and others around us. Dafne’s poem The Ocean is My Mother, coupled with Jacob’s painting Take-Over has us wondering; How can we protect our environment and keep it safe for future generations? Make it a Splendid Week!

Write a Postcard from the Road to Jacob, by clicking here. Jacob’s artwork is No. 15

The Ocean is My Mother

I say feed me.
She serves me seaweed on an oyster shell.

I say tease me.
She surrounds me in puffer fish.

I say frighten me.
She makes a shark follow me.

I say hold me.
She whispers, “Come lie down on the soft bed of seaweed.”

I say heal me.
She gives me water when I’m thirsty.

I say caress me. She calls beautiful fish to brush up against me with their fins.

I say make me beautiful. She makes me me a beautiful pearl necklace. And gives me a purple mermaid tail.

I say sing to me. She has dolphins squeal to me.

I say teach me. She shows me how to be nicer to the environment.

The ocean is my mother. El oceano es mi madre.

The ocean is my strong mother.

– Dafne age 9

This entry is a part of our series “Make it a Splendid Week”! Follow along weekly to enjoy excerpts from The Splendid Review, an anthology of poems, short stories and autobiographies written by talented young writers engaged in the Periwinkle Arts In Medicine Program at Texas Children’s Cancer and Hematology Centers.