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Monday, April 9, 2018

Waiting, On Borrowed Time?

Wonderful photo by West Coast Protector

Wolf cubs and foxes
are waiting in their dens.
In the ocean, whales, dolphins,
plankton, coral, endangered salmon
are waiting, too.
Deep in the heart of the planet,
Mother Earth is waiting
midst the fracking,
as, above-ground, are the spirit bears,
and the few remaining
thousand-year-old trees.

The living water in lakes and rivers,
the tumbling waterfall,
the waves thrumming upon
the patient, waiting shore,
are singing their song of everness,
to a world with survival questions
only we can answer.

The eagle, sharp of eye
on the topmost scrag,
the dog chained in the back yard
for ten lonely years,
the people of Syria, of Palestine,
of the Lower East Side,
the young with their hopes and fears,
their dreams, their questions
about the future,
and the survivability of the present,
are waiting, in a world on pause,
on the cusp of
necessary transformation.

I take my place in line,
join the queue,
take my number, cast my ballot
for Mother Earth
and all her creatures.



[What are the creatures and ecosystems waiting for? For humankind  to get it right, and do the work of social justice and environmental restoration, of healing, of legislating reduction of our insatiable demands.]

for Isy's Out of Standard at Real Toads: to write a poem of waiting without saying what we are waiting for.


11 comments:

  1. Of we wait for humans to act, we will be waiting for a long time. All of these waiting. I am particularly moved by the chained dog and the young.

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  2. Yes, what in the world are we waiting for?

    Elizabeth

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  3. Did Yes, Sherry, guess I'm waiting also. That dog spending its life chained, horrible life for a dog. I hope there aren't many of these. Even one is too many.
    BTW, I've seen sled dogs, the Iditerod ones, WAITING to be hitched up. They get so very anxious, all are in their places waiting to be snapped on. To stay in training during the summer the sleds have wheels .
    ..

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  4. Or perhaps they are waiting for us to be gone so the world can start putting itself to rights.

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  5. Your passion is highly visible here, and very effective Sherry! Thanks for posting this to my prompt challenge. I am glad it took you down this path!

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  6. Well, you certainly served up the images and with immense passion. I fear we will be waiting a long time...

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  7. Luv how humane and embracing your poem is, Sherry

    much love...

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  8. Wonderful words, you tell the story as it is! You give voice to the voiceless.

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  9. great poem Sherry... It has a message that all should hear...

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  10. I often ask myself, when will they snap back and bite us hard - maybe it'll be a karmic thing, in another time, space. Goddess help us then.

    really powerful words, punch thrown and rightfully accusatory ...

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  11. Beautifully written ...powerful words and sadly true !

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