Best Endangered Poems
Panting in low moans
Meandering through dense brush
Shrouded by evening sky above a forest
Crystallized by frozen branches
Oaks, maples, pines
Coffin wood encasing icy earth
The amber-eyed predator’s fur
Damp and matted
No prey in sight as hunger grows
While creatures huddle with their clans
In feathered nests and sheltered lairs
She trekked on frozen leaves confused
Longing for the comfort lost
She couldn’t understand her plight
Life had once been kind
As dawn dispelled the sandman
A cry I heard outside
Weak and wanting tones of desperation
A child lost? A babe who strayed?
Anxiously I donned my coat
Fearing what I might find
On this late December morn’
Listlessly she scratched and sobbed
The glass door kissed by thick ice
But when I turned the knob
And pushed the panel forth
Her tragedy bit hard and sharp
Her tender paws, raw with dried blood
Infection had sealed one eye shut
A bony spine, frostbitten ears
So fast I took her in my arms
Cradling this wayward soul
Reaching for a blanket, sharing salmon
A faint purr was my thanks
For warmth and love and food
Peering at her one good eye, I wept
Overcome with pity and grief
I realized the selfish act
That led this sweet one to my yard
College youths on Christmas recess
Left her on a nearby road
Before they joyfully headed home
I found their tiny cat today
Abandoned, nearly dead
Stung by an act of thoughtlessness
Fear not; the one-eyed cat will live
A refuge I’ll provide
But do not ask me to forgive
The sin that made her mine
For P.D.'s Pet Contest.
Dedicated to Katie Cat, my pet of more than 20 years.
I Weep
From childhood I revered them
Huge chunks of gray magnificence
Now my home holds their image
in herds of knick knacks
I am old and almost dead
My elephants are fading too
Man has stalked them
Hunted them
Stolen their habitat
One of God's
most noble creatures
Loving and faithful sentinels
who face extinction
I pray I go first
Wind rustles lightly
leaves now reedlike sing
as stalks of bamboo bump clack
my quarry now close....the Panda
Arriba, Arriba as Speedy Gonzalez would say
The San Quinton Kangaroo Rat is dying away
Baja California is where they do reside
On a little strip of land just 100 meters wide
Due to agriculture and progress it’s sad to say
All but nine-miles of their habitat was taken away
Truly nocturnal they only come out at night
Strongly territorial they’re ready to fight
Once numbering in thousands now 30 are left
How long can humanity go on being deft?
They bathe in the dust so its sad but true
In captivity they last just one day or two
When they are threatened believe what I say
Two-meters at a time they go hopping away
They mainly eat seeds, fruits, insects and such
Amazing kidneys allow them to not drink very much
They rarely drink water because these words are true
Their kidney’s are four-times as efficient as the kidney in you
The odds they will rebound are far less then slim
San Quinton Kangaroo Rats fate is looking rather grim
Even if you don’t hold rats dear to your heart
In the overall cycle of life they play their part
Every species on earth fulfills some sort of need
The San Quinton Kangaroo Rat regulates the diversity of seeds
Plants, insects, ants, and birds need them to survive
Without the San Quinton Kangaroo Rat they cannot thrive
Arriba, Arriba as Speedy Gonzalez would say
The San Quinton Kangaroo Rat is dying away
Being one who spent years in San Quinton this
endangered species caught my eye. Reminded
me of the jail house mouse that would frequent
my cell. An odd sort of connection I'll admit but
rather interesting I reckon.
Girl in red, a dress
Pleated down to her knees, skips
Down the lonely street.
Man in black beret
Sunshades set on face, striding
Down the narrow street.
Girl turns, sees this chap
Hurries her steps, man does so too
Girl runs, man runs too.
I researched the earth's endangered species list and this is what I found.
There's everything on the list from A to Z - rare species just abound!
I'll highlight some of the more interesting varieties just to name a few,
That creep and crawl amongst us in this world-wide conglomerate zoo!
There's the Red-bellied Grackle, Pig Footed Bandicoot and Aquatic Rat;
Paraguana Mustached Bat, Zanzibar Guitarfish and the Andrean Cat!
A rare Whiskered Flower Pecker, Canarian Shrew and Amaragosa Vole,
A Peruvian Climbing Mouse, African Wild Ass and an Arend's Golden Mole!
Also listed were the Aruba Island Rattlesnake and the Okinawa Rail,
The Western Wattled Cuckoo Shrike and the Rolling Pebblesnail.
Something called the Philippine Warty Pig and the African Wild Dog,
And a Red-collared Mountain Babbler plus a Tanzanian Screeching Frog!
I also found a Banded Wobblegong and a reptile called a Bailey's Snake,
A Cameroon Clawless Otter and something called a Band-bellied Crake!
How about the Concave-eared Oderous Frog or an Eastern Bristlebird,
The Charming Thicket Rat, Common Yobby or a rare Dahl's Jird!
Some folks may find some redeeming value having these critters in our midst,
And I suppose to a certain degree we must learn with them to coexist.
But more importantly, if humankind can't learn in peace on earth to dwell,
We *****sapiens could end up on the endangered species list as well!
Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired
(© All Rights Reserved)
Placed No. 7 on Amy Green's "Ode To The Endangered" Contest - June 2010
Endangered species are around the world
Narcissus Bugei bulbous plant of Spain
Dabry's Sturgeon mostly now a dreamworld
Amur Leopard, Russian thirty-five remain
Nava's Wren from Mexico lost domain
Gorillas, by intense poaching
Eurasian Lynx saved by reintroducing
River Dolphins hurt from habitat loss
East African Highland Shrew disappearing
Dwarf Olive Ibis, will always engross?
In honor of Dr. Ram's contest..
* Note
Click on "About This Poem"
Ganges River Dolphins are listed as, endangered
and once lived in the fresh river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh
These Dolphins only live in freshwater rivers, and are essentially blind
and are an important indicator, for the health of their river’s ecosystem
These Dolphins get caught up in fishing nets, as human bycatch
and human overfishing, is depleting their prey, on their own patch
They are also poached, for human greed of their meat and oil
and humans have encroached, like henchman that deplete with turmoil
My fingers feverishly racing over the keys,
Searching for the words…the right words
To express in verse my embattled pleas
On behalf of endangered animals and birds.
I was moved to adopt their cause of late
My fingers feverishly racing over the keys,
Recalling the awful fate of Arctic baby seals
Watching a video brought me to my knees.
Learning of the garbage found on high seas
Can we restore them to pristine condition?
My fingers feverishly racing over the keys
While daily, our earth is in blighting attrition.
Soon, rampant pollution will overcome us
If we do not take up this cause, so please
Remember, as a contribution to the crisis,
My fingers feverishly racing over the keys.
Written July 3, 2022
The new bride yells, "i cant live without john
he's my life, my joy, in him i've found true love
two years later john takes his own life
'cos he stumbled upon his best friend in bed with his wife
o faithfulness where liest thou
how i long for a glimpse of thou
I'm strapped for cash and dad's in an institution
please help me lord, i’ll remain your faithful son
in no distant time, things turn around
but my dollars are for neon shows and fast cars to cruise around
i speed past church without looking in
my morning devotion is with a whore and half a pint of gin
o faithfulness where liest thou
how i long for a glimpse of thou
Mike was a bright lad orphaned at age of four
i paid his way through school and he ended up the governor
one chilly morning with trouble's cold hands around my neck
i turned to his excellency to help me with some cheque
after long hours of staring at the ceiling
i got to meet his secretary who said he wasn't in
on getting to my car , i found my key missing
i trudged back to the office and caught boss and secretary kissing
o faithfulness where liest thou
how i long for a glimpse of thou
Jack was the most trusted of the king's closely knit guards
he had been the crown's favorite since he was but a lad
one day the crown was found fallen alongside his brother
it turned out jack sold him out to his half-brother
o faithfulness where liest thou
how i long for a glimpse of thou
please faithfulness, just a glimpse
Roaming about in the valley of love
I saw an enchanting dream
To hold on to the treasure trough
Of purity of soul and self esteem
Cross swords with the demons of lust
That swallow the serenity of souls
Neither my soul to greed entrust
Love and compassion to be my goals
Virtues that flower in the thought’s garden
Dazzle the eyes with the rainbow of colors
A comforting word is a paradise bliss laden
To banish anguish provide succors
My lofty resolve was to be steadfast and just
Undaunted in sunshine and rain
Smilingly in all adversities and failures adjust
The luck awards me a shackle or puts me in chain
The devil stood on my way wearing an ugly face
With designs to undo my dream
With an aim to see me end up in disgrace
With electrifying speed he raised his team
Would my dreams survive the onslaught of devil
Should I walk out and quit the race
Would my unsheathed sword of tenacity subdue the evil
Alone I may not this goliath successfully face
But what if you lend me your hand
Together we can win with grace
And Devil’s designs to quarantine send
Vanquished we can destroy the evil’s trace
in a time long ago
i was just two leaves growing so slow
looking for an open space
to grow my branches at my pace
dreaming of the giant i would become
if i only can catch some light and sun
mountain ash is my name
i am a king in my domain
i seek the light and grow so tall
for a thousand years before i fall
no other tree ,flowers as tall as me
guarding the forest as time passes bye
i am a soldier reaching the sky
i have seen a time you will never know
one thousand years i have seen it snow
sharing my space with others of my kind
we have lived forever in the dream time
we are not wood chip just for you
we are a species old and new
allow us to live ,as we were meant to be
as the Tasmanian giant for the world to see
i am mountain ash
Spiny stemmed buckthorn, sunlight shimmers tiny shiny leaves.
Even though in pastures you are mowed down like worthless sheaves.
Ziziphus celata, your family for thee still grieves.
Future exposure: progress, genes raped; developments’ deeds.
1987 six populations, scientists did discover.
This rare and most imperiled plant in Florida must recover!
As controlled burns had hoped, recovery sprouts with ardor.
Amazingly, new plants emerged; respite, fire’s ember.
Miraculously Florida ziziphus live; we now know.
There are some plants in Lake Whales’ pastures growing slow.
Eight populations revived perilously struggling though.
Friends against extinction work, thwarting final fiasco.
Help them find home in longleaf pine, wiregrass sand hills.
“Zigging-zagging” spiny branches embracing life’s fragrant thrill.
Visiting insects would stop, sip and buzz; singing softly, shrill.
It will take help from everyone, not just the government bill.
Agribusiness and urban sprawling must take time to care.
Genetic diversity lost, extinction starts; beware!
Builders, landscape with vanishing plants; sell their added flair.
Farmers grow your splendor with a mini-ecosystem lair.
Let all join hands and set our sights upon a brighter day.
Where lust and greed no longer need and wanting fades away –
Let us learn to value biodiversity’s bouquet
Let not beauty on this earth become man’s grim lost way.
© © Dane Ann Smith-Johnsen
June2, 2010
Poetic form: Rhyme (Each stanza is a four line monorhyme.)
a bald eagle soars
across the sparkling river ~
imperiled beings
1/9/2021
(Hi-Ku 6 poetry contest, sponsored by Brian Strand)
Lo dere
who care?
Ma say
go way
No pride
wit ride
Someday
I may
Succeed
wit weed
Til den
AMEN