Nostalgia, Naturally: A collection of poems

My book of poetry and photographs explores Montana’s wild places and is written with a spirit that cultivates a caring relationship between humans and nature.

 

From my book of poems and photographs you will learn to:

 

• Appreciate and enjoy what you have in the now
• Cultivate a caring relationship with your lifelong neighbor, Mother Nature  
• Notice the little things around you with a smile and a laugh
• Use your time and energy wisely
• Do what you can by starting locally
• Be a more environmentally conscious citizen

 

Nostalgia helps bring back memories of simpler times. Sometimes memories are evoked by our experiences in the outdoors, be it on a hike or a brief glance out the window. Although memories themselves are not tangible, the natural world that creates them is a fragile reality. This reality expresses itself in my poetry through written word and nostalgic black and white photographs, touching on subjects like squirrels, birds, ants, trees and water, while also addressing the human concepts of fame, frailty and progress. Each chapter reminds the reader of how the well being of the planet depends on the well being of our enviromental consciousness. My book seeks to strengthen you and your children’s connection to the timeless tranquility that nature affords.    

 Tyler C. Pedersen is a native Montanan from Helena. After graduating in 2006 from the University of Montana with a BA degree in ecology and a minor in Art History and Criticism, he has pursued active application through service. Last year, he was a crew member with the Montana Conservation Corps and this year he is an Americorps volunteer in Gresham, OR with the Northwest Service Academy. As the Biodiversity Conservation Coordinator in Gresham, Tyler is actively involved with watershed restoration projects, community outreach and stewardship education with local schools and the monitoring and protection of native amphibians and reptiles.  He enjoys hiking, running, photography, drawing, and writing about the natural world. This is his first published work.  Many of the poems, ideas and criteques are inspired by pictures taken in the wilderness surrounding his home at the base of the Continental Divide. 

For want of a corner

By: Tyler Pedersen

 

Silvery soft

 Steely strong

 Thirteen thousand

 Wispy chains entwined

 In the glare of the sun

 Sway crystals of dew

 Dangling down through

 Threaded silicon

 Contrived in the abdomen

 Pulled out of a gland

 Clinging

 On hold

 Then released again

 Such persistence

 From a wind smote

 Geometric polygon

 Amid all the tension

 Of brooms and paranoia

 

 Whoever did notice

 An invisible thread

 Escaping time in the attic

A cobweb

 Aging with dust, mildew and rot

 Sticking to faces long since forgot

 For when houses collapse

 And our presence fades

 No one that owns

 Nothing to save

 Yet for want of a corner

 I’ll bet you will find

 A cluster of silk

 That’s just been refined