Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Will HE GO TO POTTER'S FIELD?

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Made me sad to see him,
laying there petrified,
perfectly dead.
Breeze flowing through stripes,
stench wafting around,
haunting passers by with strong
testimony of his short existence.

I grieved. Quickly, not too intensely
'cause I never knew him personally,
just by reputation, like most people
who swerve to avoid getting close.

But death is always a little sad,
permanence lasts so long.
I figured it's not too much to write,
if only in air, a little tribute
to all the dead skunks of the world.

"S/he scavenged, S/he stank,
S/he lived, S/he lived."


(Submitted to Poetry Jam)




14 comments:

  1. I like this. I always feel sad for the animals I see who have been hit on the road. Skunks are really such beautiful animals--despite their stink!

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  2. I love this. Tribute to a small creature's efforts to survive in this fast moving world. Lovely, Myrna.

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  3. Myrna, this is a touching poem really. I always feel sad when I see a dead animal. Skunks have their role in the world too, and dead does last forever.

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  4. a worthy testimony!



    ALOHA from Honolulu
    Comfort Spiral

    =^..^= <3

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  5. nice...this to me speaks of our connection to all life...even the miniscule...i was noting today all the dead skunks and possums on the road...i dont know if they were out in mass today on the road or what but there were plenty....

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  6. a sensitive write myrna...and i'm glad you wrote about it...seeing dead animals makes me sad as well... a while a ago a colleague of mine - quite a tough guy usually - that as a kid he biked over a snail and it was dead and he got off from that bike and just couldn't believe it was him who killed it...and it really bothered him a lot... now he's in his 40's and still remembers...

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  7. It is always sad to see dead animals on the roads. Each had their worth in their own little ways. You have captured this well.

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  8. This is very touching, that moment of empathy with life and the way we care. Lovely words,

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  9. Skunks--many of them dead--were plentiful in the South, and I miss them here in Oregon--though not the dead ones.

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  10. Yes, permanence last so long! It bothers me most when in early spring, after making it through a long, cold winter that seemingly the first time they come out to enjoy the warming weather, they get struck by a car.

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  11. I never like to see anything hit by a car. Were they in the wrong place or have we put roads in their places.

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  12. I think it's really nice that without the image, there's a certain suspense whether the late being is human or an animal. Also the last two lines are a great ending! I always appreciate a poem that makes us think about animals.

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  13. Original poem... there are lots of skunks out there who would appreciate your tribute.

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  14. Always so sad to see animals like that. Felt a little tongue in cheek here, maybe? :-)

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