23 April 2014

Like Clockwork


caterpillars for songbirds and
forage for caribou in time

eggs in nests and calves on the hoof
nature and nurture finely tuned

run down like an hour glass un-turned
until humans heed its alarm

            reset with hands, knowledge and chi
            as communal propriety

            walk then, breathe to be part of earth
            as prayer that denies not its birth



Posted for my prompt Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Science, which will open at 6 a.m. Central Time.  Based on "The Change Within: The Obstacles We Face Are Not Just External."* 

Copyright © 2014  S.L.Chast


*An essay by Naomi Klein that I read on Bill Moyer's Facebook page, reprinted from The Nation by Moyers and Company (April 22, 2014).  


12 comments:

  1. 30 thousand cute white bunny rabbits, 40 to a 16 cubic foot cage, for food in Spain, doesn't quite meet your standards yet. Will we ever get back to a balance again? I know it is harming my constitution, but I turned vegetarian a decade ago, like so many. Even though chicken, rabbits, pheasants, lamb, all organic and free range, are on my doorstep. I simply can't eat flesh anymore. Much to my surprise actually. I'd never held such strong beliefs before.

    Love you neatly pared down lines with its well considered philosophy.

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    1. I had the title as a refrain between the lines, but cut it as unnecessary. Glad you like!

      I was a vegetarian once, now I just don't eat 4-legged animals and buy the rest sparingly from farms, not factories. The cost cuts down on my eating of dead flesh quite a bit. There are ways to find balance that will not harm you.

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  2. Nature forces a rhyme and pattern inside us and around us..we should listen to it a little more I should think...gentle yet certain words..

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  3. I love this, Susan (especially first couplet)... rhyming works really well here. = )

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  4. Yes, the inner change is the more necessary and urgent one - across the planet - before the balance can hope to right itself. So well expressed, Susan.

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  5. The last 2 lines made me think about prayers/affirmations/mantras...~ The nature always knows what time is now....

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  6. God's time and natures time are perfect indeed...and nature certainly is God's fingerprint of evidence that there is something more...this is lovely Susan. :-)

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  7. I like the idea (as I read it) of faith mixed with science is needed to save our environment, and this was beautiful regardless of whether I read it as intended or not.

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  8. this is so timely.....and wise lines..."until humans heed its alarm

    reset with hands, knowledge and chi as communal propriety"...my favorite lines

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  9. The following lines say it all, Susan. Incredible!!

    " nature and nurture finely tuned
    run down like an hour glass un-turned
    until humans heed its alarm" -- How true! Love this...:)

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  10. It's all about the ecological balance and our responsibility to the environment and other creatures.

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