It’s 2022, we’re in the final battle for the soul of the world.
There is no Indo-European root for soul,
the Greek and Germanic roots mean quick-moving, fleeting, mercurial.
I’d add evanescent, impermanent, ephemeral
disappearing, diminishing, dwindling
tenuous, brief, short-lived.
Whatever forever—that’s where we’ll be after WWIII.
World, home, think, breathe: man,
woman the vital force in man, the Anthropocene, men together
violence, virtue, virility. Also, werewolf.
War: to confuse, mix up, make worse.
The old are paying close attention but my sons ignore the thunder,
plate tectonics, gamma ray bursters and mortars on the Eurasian front.
Peace out—the end, limit, boundary, never to have been. So long,
sayonara, shalom, salaam. Take into eternity my hail and farewell.
From 4 – 5 in Central Park,
Beneath his favorite tree,
So many fans of Flaco* gathered –
Yes, including me.
Around the trunk were letters,
Poems and pictures and bouquets
From all of us who knew how Flaco
Brightened up our days.
Some people never saw him
But still followed all the writings,
Plus the videos and pictures
That accompanied the sightings.
I left my poems in tribute,
Heard the speeches and the songs
And await the hoped-for statue
In the place where it belongs.
*a male Eurasian eagle-owl who
escaped from the Central Park Zoo
and survived for a year in the city
Written: January 23, 2024
_____________________________________
Behold tinsel atop snow-capped mountains,
Where towering walls of gathered ice rise high.
Celestial waves flow into boiling fountains,
And flying, thawing spice fills the endless sky.
A vibrant tapestry unfolds as a kaleidoscope
Blurs appear in a realm of multi-angle vision.
The dawn is a genuine golden spectroscope.
Embracing every region, invoking raw allusion.
Sunset beams ignite the top with Eurasian light,
Dying blooms at azure are a welcoming night.
Moon, stars, and aurora borealis waltz with hope,
Velvety, dome akin to sky covers forthcoming scope.
In spring, clay and snow mix to create fresh birth,
Lava flora and ice fruits grow greater than on Earth.
An occult quiet creeps over this view and is fixed,
All this awe is an ode to one true Creator, unmixed.
Our wing span is six to eight feet
Our V-formation cannot be beat
We fly from the Ukraine to Germany
Winters are spent in North Africa you see
Our wings flap all the way across the sea
Our long legs rest as we travel in our vee.
We soar on thermal currents when over land
High altitudes help us glide in our little band.
We are the Eurasian Cranes, pleased to meet you.
Our hairy crest announces our type quickly too.
We can fly as high as thirty-three thousand feet.
Our socialization skills are to be envied, they are sweet.
If you want to see us, come to the Ukraine.
You can hike, walk, or take the holiday train.
When you see a large pterodactyl-like bird up in the sky.
With a huge wingspan, it is probably us, gliding by.
Iberian Lynx’s are listed as, critically endangered
and are related to the Eurasian Lynx, and are about half their size
They are only found, in the southern areas of Spain
and their habitat is forest woodlands, which is their natural domain
Their threats are, habitat loss for human development
of dams, agriculture, plantations, highways and railways
and a deadly disease, that has killed their main prey
along with humans hunting rabbits, that depletes their habitat
Echoes of joy
Urge and emerge;
Rise to bold ploys,
Attend to splurge;
See with new eyes,
Indulge your say;
Ask for grand sighs,
Note how you play.
Truth knows your name,
Rouse your fine norms;
Impact your game,
Bless poignant form;
Embrace your roots,
Sense tact you moot.
Leon Enriquez
29 October 2014
Singapore
When hearts are torn in sorrow
And days await weeks to borrow
A scented Eurasian herb called yarrow
I stand afar in glee;
When blessings are so nearby in mass
And hedgehogs hop upon the green-grass
On a melody for a dancer trying a chasse
I stand afar in glee;
When love is the surname of every being
Shimmering sincerity and guaranteeing
Its rank in holiness and power of freeing
I stand afar in glee!
© Guru Jad 2013
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"
Whether you are in Osaka or Tokyo,
the right thing to say is “arrigato”.
If you ever get stuck in Moscow,
“spassiba” will help you out somehow.
When you are in Mumbai or Hyderabad,
you can always say “dhanyavaad”
In Turkey along the Eurasian rim,
getting by is easy with “teshekkur ederim”
In Bonn or Berlin, in order to gain,
you can always do it with “danke schoen”.
If you are in Paris or Montreal,
just saying “merci” is saying it all.
When you are in Madrid or Caracas,
gratefulness is expressed as “muchas gracias”
If you are in either North or South Korea,
you can make friends by saying “komapsumnida”.
If you have a rather steep climb in Brazil,
“obrigado” will get you over the hill.
Wherever you go in the world today,
just remember that “thank you” is the thing to say.
A short while back when Shayla was three, Written just for Barbara's Contest.
I took my granchild's child to the Zoo with me.
She sat in he stroller as we pushed her around,
And she knew almost every creature we found,
Lion goes "RRRR" and Tiger goes "Roar,"
Hippos go "plplplpl" which I'd not heard before.
She knew elephants, horses, gorillas and monkeys,
She knew snakes and Gnus and eurasian donkeys.
Since the day was warm and the child needed a nap,
We sat in the shade on a blanket with her head on my lap.
We ate our lunch as I watched our dreamer,
Who woke and ate hers then pointed up at a lemur.
"Julian" cried the child, "Thats right" cried her mother,
And I looked from one grandkid to another.
When we got home, the child ran to prove it.
In Madagascar, thats a Julian who likes to move-it moveit.