Spiritual Ecology Poetry Contest 2026

Spiritual Ecology and Poetry

In his encyclical Laudato Sì Pope Francis expressed a profound vision of the beauty and mystery of creation, the ecological crisis, and the urgent need to care for our common home, the earth.  

The very first words of the encyclical are taken from the Canticle of the Creatures, a poem by Saint Francis of Assisi:  

“Praise be to you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruit with coloured flowers and herbs.”

Spiritual ecology seeks to understand ecology and its crisis through religious faith. As part of the month of Spiritual Ecology in May, the Marymount community will hold a poetry competition. 

Eight hundred years ago, Francis of Assisi left this world. But the seed he planted continues to germinate - and we are celebrating his spirituality in this year's Spiritual Ecology Poetry competition.

Each student is invited to submit a poem on the theme assigned to their school division (Elementary School, Middle School, High School). The deadline for submitting a poem is May 26.  The winner for each school will be announced on June 3 

Rules for Submission

• Each student may submit only one poem
• The poem should be no shorter than 8 lines, no longer than 25 lines and/or 250 words.
• It  should be typed in Times New Roman font
• It should have its title clearly marked at the top
• The entry must not have been previously published or submitted for publication or for other competitions.
• The poem must be the original work of the student submitting it.

Prizes and Judges

Prizes for first, second, and third place for the best representation of Spiritual Ecology will be awarded within the Elementary School, Middle School, and High School.  The prizes will be in the form of gift certificates in the amounts of 100, 50, and 25 euros for Otherwise Bookshop (Via del Governo Vecchio, 80).  

The poems will be judged for their depth of reflection about Spiritual Ecology as well as their style and creativity. The prize-winning poems will be read in an assembly and published on the school’s website with an introduction by the Headmistress, Ms. Gallagher.

The judges for this year’s contest will be: Mrs. Cameron, Ms. Fenneman, Ms. Hardin, and Mr. Harvey.

Submit your poem

2025 Winners

Elementary School: The Gift of Water

Water’s Greatness
Lily A. - 1st Place

Water, clear and cool and bright,
 A gift that fills the world with light.
 It falls as rain, it flows as streams,
 It helps us live and chase our dreams.
 From mountain tops to valleys low,
 Water's gift is all we know.
It fills the rivers, lakes, and seas,
 It dances softly in the breeze.
 It flows through every plant and tree,
 A simple gift, a mystery.
So when you see a drop of rain,
 Remember that it brings no pain.
 It's life, it's love, it's nature's song,
 A gift of water, pure and strong.

Crystal Clarity
Khadija A. - 2nd Place:

HOW LUCKY WE ARE, TO HAVE SO MANY FORMS OF WATER, AND SO MUCH OF IT.

Glass half full, or glass half empty?
Either way your thirst will be quenched
Perspective.
Celebrate your strengths, and find satisfaction in what you already have.
Water can’t wear a crown, yet it rules everything green.
And like grains of sand on an ordinary beach,
Water has countless forms.
 Like sweet sapphire seas,
And oceans that once touched the stars.
Glacial landforms and blankets of white.
And the fluffy white puffs of magic drifting delicately across the horizon.
Imagine the rain pouring down gently on a fragile leaf with a vein like texture.
Imagine glaciers gliding gracefully across the vast open arctic.
And Imagine snowflakes dancing down like tiny, white diamonds.
Water can be many things, including the clouds, like cotton balls in the azure sky.
Water gathers in hollow places.
It speaks through thirst.
Through flood,
And through the silence of the parched land.
It lifts seeds from sleep.
It holds the sky in its arms,
Then lets it fall gently back to earth.
It teaches roots how to reach,
And fire how to fail.
Without water,
The skin of the world cracks.
And forests close their mouths.
To waste water is to forget ourselves 
To waste water is to waste something that is vital for life, and without it, we would not have the open seas and lush landscapes we cherish.

“The beauty of water”
Rosachiara S. - 3rd Place

Pure, clear water,
You are a nature lover.
The world has you as a gift,
you are an emotional lift.
You are crystal clear life
that tic tacs through time.
When you look into the water,
listen closer….
The water will ask with depth like a sea
“What can you see?”
You will probably answer “ I can see me” 
The water will say to look deeper.
You won’t understand straight away, but be a believer.
When the sun shines on you, you sparkle in sunlight.
When the moon glows on you, you are a bright light.
What can I say about water?
It’s the gift of life, that flows through our body,
The gift of a pure beauty and saver.
 

Middle School: Lessons from Trees

“The real meaning of trees”
Giulia V. - 1st Place

Trees are tall and have green leaves,
 They stand in parks and near some eaves.
 They don’t move much, they just kind of stay,
 But they still change in their own way.
Some trees are straight and grow up high,
 Like they are reaching for the sky.
 Others bend and twist a bit,
 Maybe from wind or where they sit.
In Puglia, trees are not so straight,
 The wind there made them twist their fate.
 But still they grow and still they live,
 They take what nature has to give.
People can be like trees too,
 We face hard things and push on through.
 Even if we’re feeling sad,
 We try again and that’s not bad.
Trees don’t rush, they take their time,
 They grow slow and that’s just fine.
 Even when the weather’s tough,
 They don’t give up—they’re strong enough.
So when I feel like things are wrong,
 I think of trees and try to be strong.
 I take a breath and stand up tall,
 And know I’m growing through it all.
 

“Me and the tree”
Giordana C. - 2nd Place

I like to imagine what you think of me, 
here leaning against your rough skin
that looks so much like the skin of a worn old woman!!
that's right... You are an old man who never dies.
You grow more and more 
and for centuries you will be able to feed yourself and become wiser and wiser.
But we, mere mortals, do not have this privilege....
So you think about it,
And tell me what has changed since you were born?
Maybe a long time ago you saw children playing or maybe climbing here,
Now those children maybe at most take a selfie with you!
The world changes but you stay there, still and composed...
Nothing scratches you even the wind that blows on stormy days:
you bend a little, 
Lose a few leaves
But then you come back straighter than ever.
Your roots are solid, they are well branched....
I wish I had your austerity, 
your majesty,
your authority... 
You're home for squirrels,
you are a den for birds,
you are shade on sunny days...
You are the silent force I would like to have.

“Time is Growth”
Kate P. - 3rd Place

Rooted deep into our beliefs,
We say movement means life,
Not knowing that hidden in its leaves
Every tree protects us from strife
Tiny specks are we,
In the gigantic perspective of a tree,
Its roots so deep we cannot see
That it reaches beyond our own ancestry
Every tree a story overrun by time
Cutting one down still not considered a crime
In its hollows a story dwells inside
One that we shall all abide
Every breath a gift not given by our own
But by those who were before us
They that will be after us
And that what dwells in the memory of all
 

High School: The Gift of Biodiversity

“The Jellyfish”
Hamna A. - 1st Place
 

The Jellyfish glows - a question in water,
boneless prophet of drifting grace.
No heart to love, no brain to falter,
it floats through life without a place.
We watch it float - our mirrored skin,
souls endowed with thought and care,
yet often numb, corroding within,
blind to wonders breathing air.
Our fingers scroll as forests fall,
thumbs aglow with counterfeit light.
We once inhaled with open eyes,
Now captive to this glowing cage.

Defiant wounds of color, riven,
in leaf and scale and bloom and stone.
Gifts time has sown with tender hands,
In soil and sea and flesh and bone.
Within nature’s myriad forms
we draw our quiet cure;
yet those who offer solace
Are met with wrathful war.
So plant a living flower on this dying earth,
And let its roots hold faith,
That something rare may find rebirth,
and thread its hues through mourning’s wraith.
Because we, unlike the drifting jellyfish,
can choose to swim against the tide.
To hold a heart, to wield a wish,
and sustain the wildness that burns inside.
 

“The measure of man”
Sean d. - 2nd Place 

Beyond the lamps and asphalt
Beyond the metal beasts

Beyond paths too wide for horse and rider, much too hot for naked feet
Lies a world of imperfections, of discomfort and unlit
A place not just designed for us, but us designed for it
Most sticks the length for walking, most water safe to drink
A fallen trunk, a bridge, wide for two feet to fit
Our phones the valley’s echo, our clocks birdsong and sun
Our ‘jobs’ closer to a game, a hunt a puzzle on the run
The corporate ladder’s scalable, and the city will just scold
The wild is human sized, and scaling trees never gets old
 

Untitled
Luphawu J. - 3rd Place

A roar of a tiger shakes forest and bone
A sacred cry where spirit meets the land.
His golden eyes reflect what we disown—
The wild we ruin with our poisoned hand.

He walks through trees that whisper ancient names, 
Where roots recall the vows we left behind.
The smoke we summon chokes the holy flames
That once lit stars in every feral mind.

Yet still he prowls, the keeper of the old,
Each footfall carved with silence and with grace.
His breath is prayer, his gaze a tale retold—
A mirror held to our unseeing face.

And if he fades, what song will rise instead?
The forest mourns each sacred thread we shed.
 

2024 Winners

Elementary School: The Beauty of Creation

Pure Nature
Poem By Nicole C. Grade 3 - 1 ^st place

From the light of the day to the dark of the night we all know that nature is a beautiful sight

From the seas and the lakes, the oceans and rivers God is such a wonderful giver

From the rain to the rainbows from the sun to the clouds all I want to say is WOW

From the seed to the flower from the plant to the tree when I am in nature I feel free

From the birds in the skies to the deer on land, what a feeling it is to pet one with my hand

Because there is always something better than what we have today that God will give us one day 

To the stars that are still forming

To the universe that is still expanding.

Before I finish what I want to say is to be grateful for what God gives us each and every day.

The Heavy Rainstorm
Poem By Christian M. Grade 5 - 2 ^nd place

The clouds were like wet sponges
Heavy rain fell and tickled trees' leaves 
And softened their bark 
It hit the muddy ground.
The light grey sky stared down at bugs
taking cover. 
The soft noise was calming, 
Blending the coarse dirt into mud
 

The Ocean
Poem By Daniel M. Grade 5 - 3 ^rd place

As the ocean cries sadly
Sadness awakes,
Wave after wave the current is too strong,
a current too strong to fight,
As the ocean cries with deep emotion
As the ocean cries it was never like this 
As dark as the night nothing can bring it back to its true form.

Middle School: Care for Creation

Nature Vs Plastic
Poem By Giulia V. Grade 6 - 1 ^st place

To pray you show your whole self 
To sky, to earth, to sun, to moon 
To one whole beauty that is you.
And there is more
That you can't see or  can't hear
Can't know except in moments
Regularly growing, and in languages 
That aren't always the best and are only
Plastic, plastic and plastic. 
Like birds on Sunday morning
Like the amount of salt in the sea. 
Reflecting the blue sky
In the wind, that blows them away 
With special wings.
We see you, see ourselves and know 
That we must take the utmost care 
And kindness in all things.
Breathe in, knowing we are made of
All this, and breathe, knowing 
We are truly blessed because we 
Were born, and die soon within nature
Like the beauty of the island of Calypso
Inside us.
We pray that it will be fixed 
In beauty.

Care For Creation 
Poem By Giordana C. Grade 6 - 2 ^nd place

How beautiful life is,
How beautiful is the world you gave us,
How dear are affections, friendships...
How unique the family is…
And then????
The love of a little dog who celebrates with you every day,
Who welcomes you back home very happy and looking for cuddles because he missed you...
And then if for a moment you step out of your enchanted life you see wars, you see hatred, you see sin.
I wonder why all this?
If God has given us life, living it respecting it is the best response to his gift.
So let's arm ourselves with good intentions,
We love others and we will be loved.
We custodians of his creation,
Let's help preserve it!
How strange is it that we help God???
I really think he needs all of us,
Knights of his kingdom,
Creature that he himself created….
We are many, and I like to believe that we are more than those who have lost the right path!
Getting lost is probable but finding yourself is everyone's duty.
So let's push away indifference, because we cannot remain still in the face of things that are not right.
Let's isolate the violence and wait for it to disappear into an amorphous space without souls...
I close my eyes and pray for him….I pray for us!
 

The Ultimate Grasp
Poem By Kate p. Grade 7 - 3 ^rd place

There are a lot of things that we never think about
Maybe the future of our children - that is the everlasting doubt
All the lives that we ruined in hopes of improving our own
But we keep repeating that we’ve grown
We are engulfed in our own encircling greed
Does the world really need to plead?
For us to stop the burning and destruction,
The never ending wars and construction?
Have we not yet understood
If we do not take care of our home, who should?

High School: The Mystery of Creation

THE SEED
Poem By LAVINIA S. Grade 9 - 1 ^st place

It’s there.
Under a covering veil,
Under the nutrition coat,
Under the noise of society.

It’s there.
Above the wet of the soil.
Above the rock of Mother Earth.
Above the lively underground water.

It’s there.
Within the nutrients.
Within the particles of the soil.
Within the roots of the trees.

It’s there.
The seed of a new flower.
The seed of a new God’s creature.
The seed of a new life.

It’s there.
Within me a new life is growing.

Tree of Life
Poem By Ji-in Y. Grade 11 - 2 ^nd place

Eyes guard a youthful sprout
that grows with no glimpse of could-be’s,
placed in a land of bountiful drought,
for now she lives

found to be a beaming beauty
her branches sprawl out, searching for
what one must perceive to be a duty,
and she lives

those who she once called neighbors,
those were the first to shrivel,
she wished to call them traitors,
still she lives

new spectators bring promises and lies,
fickle beings ensnared by power and love
come to challenge and colorize
how she lives

drowning in His blazed graveyard,
the fourth century brings a question,
is to exist to be loved and scarred?
is she living?

in His hand, her ashes fly to embrace
the winds long past of the miracle,
the burning world could not emphasize
His pride that she lived

Spiritual Compendium
Poem By Oscar Z. Grade 11 - 3 ^rd place

Root /ruːt/ noun
The foundation of our existence
Where the distance
Is close

Begin /bɪˈɡɪn/ verb
Coming from nowhere
But still there
living

Flow /fləʊ/ verb
Bridging destiny
Cosmic synergy
Essence

Breath /brɛθ/ noun
All blows
Where it goes
Complete

Nurture /ˈnəːtʃə/ verb
Vital feeding
Caring
Us

Growth /ɡrəʊθ/ noun
Experience
Where is the resilience?

Renewal /rɪˈnjuːəl/ noun
Eternal