Kids Poems » See Saw

What is this poem about?

As you were reading the poem, did you feel a sense of loss? The poem talks about a tree being cut down and a bird losing its nest. The sense of loss that you feel is about the loss of the tree and the loss of habitat for the bird, leaving it at the mercy of the elements.

English literature is full of poems and stories that talk about environmental destruction and deforestation caused by man. See for example, The Trees are Down by Charlotte Mew and the Death of a Tree by Edwina Reizer.

The major causes of deforestation are agriculture and population growth. Whatever be the cause, the effects have been disastrous. According to current estimations, about 137 animal, plant, and insect species are getting extinct every day due to loss of habitat, as a result of deforestation.

The Javan Rhinoceros, Bornean Orangutan, Golden Lion Tamarin, the Giant Panda, and the Mountain Gorilla are just some of the animals that are faced with the threat of extinction due to deforestation. Of the Javan Rhinoceros, there is fewer than 60 left in the world. The rest of these animals also are very few in number.

Deforestation is a crucial concern in tropical rainforests because much of the world’s biodiversity is found there. For example, around 17% of the forest has been lost in the last 50 years in the Amazon, mostly due to forest conversion for cattle ranching.

The fight against deforestation has to be begin by creating awareness about the dangers created by it. Individuals and governments have to come together to preserve our forests and their precious inhabitants.

Poem: See Saw

GET into the boat and away to the west,
See-saw ! see-saw !
For they've cut down the tree with the poor linnet's nest,
See- saw ! see-saw !
The bulrushes nod and the water-lilies sigh,
See-saw ! see-saw !
And all of us know the sad reason why,
See-saw ! see-saw !

For, oh ! the tree - the tree's cut down,
And every one of its leaves are brown ;
And in the field the children play,
But the little linnet has flown away :
Oh, dear ! oh, dear ! oh, dear !