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Saturday, July 26, 2014

Poems from the Past




July 22, 1999


Graceful heron,
swooping across
the evening sky
like a pterodactyl,
Prehistoric bird
perched on a treetop,
my heart swoops with you,
then stills,
standing by the silent pond,
waiting for the night to settle
around us both
softly as feathers.


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SONG OF THE FROGS

July 9, 1999

Song of the frogs
in the fading light
soft fade the hills
in the falling night
God touching earth
with a gentle might
and all is beauty
within my sight

soft falls the light
on garden walls
a rose-hued mountain
as day's curtain falls
a froggy symphony
serenades the night sky
and grateful, grateful, grateful
I.

Two poems from my last summer on the West Coast - Port Albion, a small community in a tucked-away, undeveloped area, half an hour from Tofino. I lived in a teeny basement "suite", on a pond, and Pup spent his days blissfully roaming. He even gave loud backtalk to a black bear, who swatted its paws at him, which didnt deter him from getting right in the bear's face with Attitude. Pup never backed down. Alpha to the last moment of his life.

Every late afternoon the sky, the mountain I lived beside, and the pond below, turned this most glorious shade of rose.  One night I was standing by the pond when a heron flew right above my head. And every night, the frogs sang to me. It was heaven. Late that same fall, I moved here to Port. Sigh. Pup mourned, as did I, the loss of our wilderness Eden. He would sit at the window, looking out at the city streets. Anyone who thinks dogs dont grieve, check out these photos:


"Where did my wilderness go?"
I felt - and feel - the same way.

This is posted for Poets United's Poetry Pantry. Happy Weekend to all!


33 comments:

  1. You lived in a beautiful place, Sherry. I can understand why Pup would mourn the change of environment. You too.

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  2. I so like these nature poems, Sherry. Herons are indeed very graceful birds. And I agree that dogs do grieve.

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  3. I love the sensuality of the feathers settling around and in the second poem the soft falling of night, also sensual from froggy peeps to full chorus and from softened light to curtain falls. What living thing does not grieve loss? What is love but survival?

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  4. Definitely not a town kinda guy, was he?
    I love the poems, Sherry.
    xoxo
    K

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  5. I watch magpies sometimes, thinking of them as raptors. Not so much with frogs.

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  6. Sounds like a lovely place, and what a gorgeous dog :)

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  7. Both poems are a delight but the Frogs has such warmth and love for me.

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  8. Can hear the breath of softness in both ... just lovely :)

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  9. These are beautiful poems with vivid images of the beauty that surrounds you, i live the way you paint in words.

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  10. I love that touch of softness in the poems and beautiful images...

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  11. Beautifully written Sherry ~ I feel the sadness for the the lost of the wilderness ~ And that first picture is just stunning ~

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  12. Your nature poems are short and sweet. which makes them easy to remember. Always entertaining. thanks for sharing them with us Sherry.

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  13. The joys of living near water and the beautiful lives that are there. I liked "Graceful Heron" best.

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  14. I heart that swoops with herons knows things that other hearts can't even dream of...

    My Whirl: “Places”

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  15. I can feel the moment when heron swoops...and the heart responds with fast beat. The frogs' chorus I like too, wilderness - nice for while...

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  16. Beautiful poems!!!
    ...and the dog? God love him.
    ZQ

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  17. It's truly something to keenly observe the movements of a bird (heron, in this case). I still feel a weird excitement every time I do it, feeling my heart and imagination soar as high as the bird itself.

    I loved the rhymes used in the second poem. And the ending could not have been perfect. Superb use of repetition.

    And such an adorable dog! :)

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  18. Grateful, grateful, grateful, I.

    It is so important to be grateful in the moment. Thank you for sharing these poems again, Sherry.

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  19. Hi Sherry, evocative as always: "my heart swoops with yours too..." lovely sensibility...

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  20. Evocative as always Sherry - my heart swoops with you too... Lovely sensibility here...

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  21. We are fortunate to have dwelled side by side with natures bounty Sherry. I am grateful to still live in an amazingly beautiful place.

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  22. I once lived with a small river in my back yard and listened to the frogs as a lullaby and the herons landed on the shore at the edge of the yard. I can understand your mourning.

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  23. It sounds like a lovely place ..so serene and peaceful .. I love the pictures of Pup..gorgeous !

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  24. i love the first one... the warmth makes one feel like a bird itself!!

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  25. Sherry, you can definitely feel the peace and joy in these poems. I love both of them! It's been raining a lot over here. The peepers have been out in force. I love them too :-)

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  26. Lovely reminiscences of your beautiful rose-hued days with Pup, Sherry. I very much enjoyed reading them.

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  27. It is good to have a place, even if you are no longer there. You carry it in your heart, it lives on inside of you. Just as Pup does,

    Elizabeth

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  28. Sherry,

    Your poems are beautiful, I can hear the frogs songs in the pond. Animals indeed have feelings and I am sure he watches over you each and every day my friend.

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  29. It definitely sounds like a very beautiful place.:) I love the way your words paint the picture of the nature surrounding you.....made my Monday morning.

    Have a great week Sherry...smiles

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  30. aww...of course they do...heron are always so majestic to me...seeing them gives me pause...used to see a whole lot more when we lived in florida...still see them every once in a while....

    and as always your connection to nature...

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  31. Interesting these two poems together . . . . A heron's main diet besides fish is frogs.

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  32. Don't we all carry our wilderness along

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