Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains National Monument
Generation Trail :
The monument
Encircled with Mountains
Warm sand
A young desert flower
untouched
Coyote prints still
fresh from night
A visitor center
Artifacts of history displayed
Travelers come to see from everywhere
A few trails
Tired, used
but needed
Appreciated
Seen, from generation
to generation
Wandering on preserved land
Beaten trails already made
thoughts
stepping off the trail
But wait
Should
You
Really
Step
Off
The
Trail
The consequences
A young desert flower dead
Coyote prints gone
A new trail
Worn out and unappreciated
Seen, from generation
To generation
Heather Stokes, 14 a freshman at Nova Academy in Palm Desert, won the Earth Day 2003 National Monument, Poetry with Public Places, and Leave No Trace Contest.