Hello my forest friends
You’re not so different from me
Why did we part company
Something in our DNA
Or just our poor manners
May I walk among you
Can I cross that wide bridge
Skirt our stagnant pond
Sit down and talk with you
Please don’t show your teeth
We are so much alike
Cells, organs, hearts beat as one
But what we have kills us
It’s money that we worship
An ivory tower we cannot escape
That maleficent power
Rules everything we do and say
Come secretly signal to me
Can we escape this compulsion
Be some value to the world again
There followed a long silence
Then a cold breeze blew up
The animals sadly shook their heads
My dog got up and joined them
Oh great last line... can't imagine what the animals will want with us destructive humans!!
ReplyDeleteHa! The ending caught me off-guard.
ReplyDeletelove that twist in the end...
ReplyDeleteThis was an amazing read! Loved the poem.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, wild is best. Terrific use of the wordle words.
ReplyDeletevery nice poem... money really kills us
ReplyDeletevery nice poem... money really kills us
ReplyDeleteLove that ending. Brilliant.
ReplyDeleteAh yes...animals have a knowing we can't back pedal and achieve...sadly..but wonderful to dream as we walk through the forest with you
ReplyDeleteloved the rhythm of this in keeping with a walk and the ponderings. the world of mammon is hard to leave even though we hear the call of the wild - our furry friends know this.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely lovely ... though when I read DNA I assumed you and Mary inspired by same Wordle words and I have different ones ... Mhmmm?
ReplyDeleteLove the closing lines :D wonderful read.
ReplyDeleteOuch, when your best friend feels the same. You might be in a bit of trouble.
ReplyDeleteHave you seen the tv show ZOO? I read the book a couple years ago and have peaked in on the series - simiular thought to it.
This is wonderful...yes, money has such control over humanity. Thank you for sharing your words! Those final lines really brought the point home.
ReplyDeleteA very clever use of the words! Loved the last line...made me smile.
ReplyDeleteA judgment I'm afraid we deserve!
ReplyDeleteWhen even the dogs are no longer mankind's friends ... I like, though, how the speaker here communicates with nature. That counts for something.
ReplyDeleteThis poem spoke to me. Being a biology student, I've realised how little humans deviate from all other animals with respect to anatomy and physiology. In fact, we share many of our cellular processes with our oldest ancestors- the bacteria. What then sets us apart from them? What then, has severed the link between us and the rest of the living world. I love the way you've explored this question. The ending was sad. I hope there comes a time again when we're able to connect with our fellow living beings. I loved the way you represented this huge gap as a 'bridge' and a stagnant lake.
ReplyDeleteEvolution has separated 'us from them' never to re-join. So, your dog's gone back to nature. Oh well!
ReplyDeleteVisit Keith's Ramblings!
So true it's scary.
ReplyDeleteCan we escape this compulsion
ReplyDeleteBe some value to the world again...
I surely hope we can!
Maybe the beast inside is the better part of a human.
ReplyDeleteOh this gave me goosebumps Robin...we are part of nature...our cells our DNA, but we have separated ourselves and turned our backs because of money...and thumbed our noses now at nature....and nature has answered! great ending.
ReplyDeleteThis poem is so effective - I can see the animals sadly shaking their heads - that image will stay with me.....loved this one, Robin.
ReplyDeleteThis whole writing reminded me of something that happened years ago. I had a male friend who was always interested in my stories of encounters with wild animals, especially the birds of prey. One morning, he stepped out of his cabin in the woods, and found a bald eagle resting on the lower branch of a not too distant tree. He decided, because he was alone, to try that "Elizabeth thing" and spoke to the eagle with his mind. The eagle stared at him until he was finished, then turned his back and let go a deluge of eagle poop down the trunk of the tree. I laughed uproariously at his story. Then he asked me what I thought the eagle's message might be. I said I didn't know, but maybe next time he should speak from his heart, not just his mind. Thank you for reminding me of this one,
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
This is really well done!
ReplyDeleteReally enjoyed this piece. The ending was a bittersweet treat.
ReplyDeleteGreat take on the words -- what separates humans from the "animals."
ReplyDeleteWe can't blame them...so many think they are just 'target practice.' White man, so slow....
ReplyDeletewhat a sweet right!
ReplyDeletei, too, feel closer to the animals. :)
the shift at the end is both surprising and interesting, luv this poem
ReplyDeletemuch love...
Your last two lines remind me of the story of Enkidu from the Gilgamesh epic. Once we have departed, nature does not want us back.
ReplyDeletethe ending of the poem made me smile. animals are so cute when thought about.
ReplyDeleteA sad tale to tell.
ReplyDeleteLoved this poem and the feel it leaves,
ReplyDeleteYeah .. a lovely poem!
ReplyDelete