Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Lost brotherhood




Migrating Siberian Cranes over Himalayas 


white against white
    sky is an open road
       above ice-capped mountains

wild is the call of wind
    that rushes in our lungs
       as we cross continents & rivers

to where the sun greens
     every blade of grass, browns earth-
        worms, yellows fish in marshlands

we fear not the crossing
     the flock is brotherhood
        marking the journey old as sea

our wingspan fight
     against eagles and vultures
         yet we fear not
              as we smell rain clouds
       above the marsh & bogs
       
as we travel  
      on and on       
           don't lead us astray
                     with your hunting games
                 for our prized plumes
         for our tender meat

leave us 
      in our untamed earth
            dense, unsettled as clouds  
               with the wind as our choir      
                       we move as kindred souls 
                                   in silent geometry
                                     
                            Let this be not our  
                                                         last
                                                                 j o u r
                                                                             n
                                                                                 e
                                                                                      y

   

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub - We are writing about ecopoetry ~  Sadly these long-lived cranes  is on the list of endangered species as its population has greatly diminished in the last 3 decades.     Thanks for the visit ~

37 comments:

  1. So very sad. So many beautiful creatures are nearly dying off. Humans are so often heartless or unthinking, and all of creation suffers.

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  2. I think we crave too much... we the meat or plumes.. and then one day the silent... when it's all too late. Yet it might come back and hurt us...

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  3. Oh Grace, you make me feel their plight, their flight....and their ultimate fall from the sky.....so beautifully written.

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  4. This is soo beautiful! Love the call to nature and yearning of the journey we lead. Excellent write :D


    Lots of love,
    Sanaa

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  5. Incredible message, & POV, & for a time we cruised the sky, had wings, morphed into bird song; lovely & sad, & nicely done--the perfect illustration for your prompt. Mine is still pedantic perhaps.

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  6. Lovely poem, lovely example of the form. This makes me feel their plight and wish for more wings in the sky. Because of so much building around our island of county road, there are fewer birds, squirrels, deer, night critters. I often cry for their loss and wonder if I am the only one who mourns.

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  7. I loved your line /marking the journey old as sea/.

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  8. Writing from the POV of the cranes made this all the more poignant. I couldn't help but think of what happened to the Buffalo in the North American plains.

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  9. OH! I am breathless at that fading "journey." Stunned.
    Perfect.

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  10. There is nothing more inspiring than the cranes flight.

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  11. Do I dare commenting ? cuz all ur closed club peeps commented already ... guess I will comment anyway ...
    (deep breath, cat cu u will not be bullied by anyone) ... Lovely and somewhat heart breaking poem, friend, Grace ... reminds me of my childhood and what we went through while travelling from north to south over and over again ... just like the migrant birds ...k ...'nough said ... smiles ... Always, Love, cat.

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  12. Humans sure screw up life for so many species out there.

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  13. This is so visually beautiful and birdlike before even diving into the actual words.

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  14. Oh Grace your poem is beautiful. I felt their cry. So sad. I love the way you end it with visual outline of words.

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  15. Sad but beautifully written. So raw with emotions. Bravo.

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  16. So poetic and lyrical - but what a sad ending. Suzanne of Art and Life.

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  17. Lovely display of poem. With ever vanishing nature, the birds are too being affected.

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  18. You tell such an all too familiar story as one after the other of our animals fail to thrive in our changing world. I LOVE how you ended your poem with the fading letters, Grace, genius!

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  19. The fade-out of journey at the end was a brilliant touch.

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  20. sMiLes.. damming
    the Human race
    might be easy
    if not
    for the
    rest of
    Nature iN
    balance.. now..
    and of course
    damming.. just
    means keeping
    humans at bay
    iN balance..
    sMiLes
    aGaiN..:)

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  21. the plea in the last line makes us aware of the human greed and gradual dwindling away of the paradise...so poignant...beautiful Grace...

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  22. You have painted many beautiful images, I loved those last lines and the way it drags at the end....a message so well conveyed....

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  23. This reaches the heart with the wispy language and photo and puts us in the cranes' place, in the air, talking with one another and is almost like a graceful prayer.

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  24. Hi Grace! I was flying with the cranes! I love the shape of this poem, as well as the gorgeous imagery and sorrowful tone.
    I was originally thinking about something similar with wolves, but then changed my mind in favour of a shape poem about trees! Am I allowed to add an old poem about elephants as well as the one about trees?

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  25. Very beautifully put together. I love the short lines and the ending. I think eco poems need some 'punch line' to challenge us. We are losing so much of this wonderful world. I did watch a documentary on the cranes once. An amazing journey

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  26. Absolutely stunning. First you take me on a travelogue, as if I am one of these magnificent creatures, experience their joy of soaring and migration. And then you speak to the reader in warning....and the formatting at the end is so effective. Very very well done!

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  27. wild is the call of wind
    that rushes in our lungs
    as we cross continents & rivers

    to where the sun greens
    every blade of grass, browns earth-
    worms, yellows fish in marshlands


    I am enjoying the imagery

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  28. Yes, preserve these beauty... Love the visual effect in the poem's ending, by the way.

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  29. Your poem brings tears, Grace...truly beautiful and affecting/effective. Thank you.

    I love this

    "we fear not the crossing
    the flock is brotherhood
    marking the journey old as sea"

    the shape that the lines take and the closing with the journey trailed out and fading...breaks my heart.

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  30. Beautifully done concrete piece, Grace. I could see this published.

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  31. Gorgeous wording and imagery, Grace, sensitively told from the viewpoint of the cranes. What we would learn if we could, indeed, communicate with the other creatures of our universe.

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  32. What a gorgeous poem. From the title to the last line.

    Greetings from London.

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  33. What a kind expression of the longing to just be allowed to live. Maybe more humans should feel the same way.

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  34. I'm sad that those cranes are on the list for endangered species. You did such an amazing job to capture this feeling and their beauty in your poem - at the same time. Beautifully written. It's very deep and touching.

    Thank you, Grace, for your loving and caring comment on my gratitude post! You are amazing!

    Have a wonderful week :)
    Sending lot of hugs to you,
    Beate

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  35. thanks for the prompt, Grace.

    there is much sadness these days... perhaps it's the winter... ~

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