volcanic rock and shallow soil
delicate vegetation, easily bruised
spectacular view of town and lake
trees few and far between
ground soft with fallen needles—
gentle footfalls save the soil,don’t damage plants
the mountain of our youth
we often climbed
but there were few of us,
few and far between
the fragile ecosystemis threatened
by people who don’t love
the mountain of our youth
will it die, our mountain?
will it live?
Posted in response to Kenia's challenge to the writers' group Imaginary Garden with Real Toads.
Kenia introduced us to some of the work of Manoel de Barros, a great nature poet in her country of Brazil.
I could not write in the almost-inimitable style of Manoel de Barros, but Kenia asked us to write about our personal relationships with nature.
10 comments:
Oh I know. When I went back recently, we drove around - Knox Mountain where my kids flew their kites, is covered with condos. In the Mission, where we used to bike past all the orchards, is all condos. Out in the Mission - condos. Out Highway 33 - condos. Housing for rich people - where do the poor people live? They are hidden. I love your line "the mountain of our youth". It was such a sweet little sleepy town then - now - Yuppy-ville. Sigh.
There should be many more poems about treating the earth kindly; perhaps then we would learn to look after it better.
I feel deeply drawn to mountains and their relationship to both sky and earth. You show how much this mountain of your youth means to you.
This is a beautiful poem. I've just come home from my trip to Israel. I am really tired. Israel is fascinating. I am glad that the Jewish people have their own country after so many years of either being tolerated or killed.
Thank you for your kind comment.
fragile ecosystem
I was watching the worst highways, and roads in Northern India and nepal. Two trucks almost touch each other, and the ground softs under the weight of the wheels.
My mum visited parts of Taiwan. She said it was so scary, The cliff was just by the road.
I love the whisper in this, the reverence. Lovely!
Us oldies are seeing so much of this. Our favourite natural haunts been gobbled up by progress???
Nice poem and pics. As I write this I can hear a bulldozer working a few streets away, The trees are disappearing. It makes me sad.
Oh...I think the mountain / the mountains will outlive us all. One way or another, it/they will survive!
I like this .. Kay, you are a true wordsmith ..
Lovely poem, Kay.
The trouble is that almost everywhere is accessible now so that even the remotest parts of the world can be visited. Too many people take too little care of our precious world.
Post a Comment