State of the Planet

News from the Columbia Climate School

Tree Dance

swaying tree
Photo: Unsplash

can you dance like me?

feel the rhythm of the wind echo in hollow bones?

fruit swinging to earth’s beat,

 

do your leaves ever

overwhelm themselves with so much emotion

for the sky’s song is filled with such devotion

displaying graceful erratic motions

encouraged by shuffle of oceans

showing they have been chosen

to release themselves

of all that’s been stolen?

 

do your roots ever

take set in the ground

stretching to a point so far down

never can they be bound

for they form their own crown

worldly jewels renown

spindly tendrils surround

brown bodice gown

spin and spin and spin around?

 

do ever your twigs

twist and twine

bundle and bind

cloaked in vines

move in time

like feline

in slinky summertime

ancient wind whines

whispers whistles in mind

soft as breeze’s brine?

 

can you hear it?

can you feel sun drum

feel moon tune

hear tides cry

as they wave goodbye

are you as tethered and free

as me?

 

Brianna Brown is a student at at Barnard College, where they’re majoring in Environment and Sustainability. Read more of their poems here

Photo of the Earth from space with the text "Lamont at AGU25" on top.

AGU25, the premier Earth and space science conference, takes place December 15-19, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. This year’s theme—Where Science Connects Us—puts in focus how science depends on connection, from the lab to the field to the ballot box. Once again, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and Columbia Climate School scientists, experts, students, and educators are playing an active role, sharing our research and helping shape the future of our planet. #AGU25 Learn More

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