Rock Cycle drawing, circa 1993 or so. Click to view larger.

I’m trying to finish up my packing today, so here’s one last gem (for now) from the past: a poem that I wrote in third or fourth grade about the rock cycle. There is also an accompanying drawing (see above). Enjoy!

The Cycle

Volcanoes,
Blowing their tops.
Volcanoes,
Spraying igneous rocks.

Weathering,
Wind and rain.
Weathering,
Making rocks not the same.

Oceans,
Where the rocks go.
Oceans,
The bottom floor we know.

Sedimentary,
These rocks now are.
Sedimentary,
Fossils near and far.

Pressure,
This and heat.
Pressure,
Hard to beat.

Metamorphic,
Like the butterfly.
Metamorphic,
I hate to say goodbye.

The Cycle,
Goes on and on.
The Cycle,
Never stopping beyond.

Rock Cycle poem, mounted on stylish (but faded) construction paper. Click to view larger.

I think my understanding of the rock cycle was pretty good for a 9-year-old, but in reality the cycle is a little more complex. In addition to the cycle of igneous to sedimentary to metamorphic to igneous, there are other pathways for rock transformation. Igneous rocks can go directly to metamorphic rocks and sedimentary rocks can go directly to igneous rocks. Metamorphic rocks can also become part of sedimentary rocks. The cycle is complex with rocks taking different transformation pathways depending on environmental conditions.

A more realistic rock cycle diagram. Figure taken from here.