Turtle Island Poems

In the collection of poems written by Gary Snyder entitled, Turtle Island, I read "Without," "Source," and "Manzanita." In "Without," Snyder tries to explain that if humans do not start to try to preserve nature, nature will continue on its current path of extinction.  He states that nature is silent and therefore implies that it has no power to fight for its life.  He also tries to express that success is not necessarily saving the environment in its entirety, but instead healing the wounds of urbanization.  The poem "Source" is about embracing nature for its wild and peaceful characteristics alike.  Within the poem, he states, "I hear no news," which means that he is distancing himself from society to be able to truly be in tuned with nature.  In the poem, "Manzanita," Snyder really encourages the reader to focus on the little details of his or her surroundings and how details change with settings and moods.  The last stanza states, "The longer you look the bigger they seem, "little apples," which means that while at first glance the berries on the Manzanita plant may at first seem small, after a while they appear to be almost as large as apples.