Her Paintbrush
San Diego, CA
2023, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
Climate Hero: Silvia Lopez Chavez
A girl becomes glum
As she reads on ocean rise
She is conflicted
Compared to others
She doesn’t know how to end
And stop climate change
She looks at painters,
Silvia López Chavez
As one example
Tropical flowers
And blue oceans she painted
Her paintbrush helps us
Silvia inspires
And teaches people through art
Her paintbrush helps us
The girl wants to help
She starts reading positive
Ways to help our world
She decides to write
Her words and knowledge needed
But with her pencil
So now I ask you
What will you do to save us?
Anything will help
Will you use art, too?
Like Silvia chose to do?
Or another way?
We have to make change
In any way possible
With all our talents
We’re all different
So we can teach each other
Why are we waiting?
Let’s all be heroes
By listening and teaching
Others and ourselves
Reflection
Reflection
The world keeps agreeing to stop climate change, but we only see little action. This is a severe world problem that needs to end. After watching documentaries and seeing the effect of climate change and the ocean rising, I knew I had to do something. This Contest was something I could do to spread the word. After researching many activists and scientists, I was in awe of their work. But something was different about a specific painter: Silvia López Chavez. What drew me to her was one detailed artwork she did at the Boston Children’s Museum. I lived in Boston from 11 months to seven years old. I often visited the Boston Children’s Museum with my family and saw the interactive exhibits it had there. It is a wonderful memory. Then I researched how Silvia López Chavez created a masterful and environmentally aware exhibition transforming recycled objects into artwork plastered onto the wall at the Boston Children’s Museum. I had to choose her. Her exhibition allowed the Boston Children’s Museum to teach others about being more environmentally aware. I hope that people of all ages, but especially teenagers, can learn from my poem that we must not be discouraged by the massive problem that is climate change. We have to use all of our gifts and talents to work together to make a difference. All of us are unique individuals, and we should harness that for the better.