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On Prey

September 5, 2011
By Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
More by this author
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;il piu nell&#039; uno,&quot; (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)<br /> <br /> &quot;Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality&quot; ~Emily Dickinson<br /> <br /> &quot;The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain&quot; <br /> ~Kahlil Gibran

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Wild is the frightened goose
Who flees from bounding feet
Glancing back
At the rifles’ dance
And stumbling through the air
Bite at life with sweaty beak
Just to have it—
Wrenched away!
By a gunshot from the hunters
Then smoke and feathers
And blood
A fading sound of thunderclap
Then a fall to dirt and dust

Merry are the feasting men
Who sup on roasted bird
Flesh on wooden table
A meal of victory!
But watch them walk in later days
The flapping forms
Of frightened souls
Which fate will come to fetch—
With a flash of lightning
Or is it
Gunshot—from the sky?

To squirm in nets of Judgment
With a sentence of vapor—and Truth
They’ll recall the clamor of sudden death—
How familiar the sound!
Then retire to giant ovens
And fall to the wretched plates
Of a party of demons and of gods
Who make a meal—of men!

© Desiree H., Aliquippa, PA

The author's comments:
I encourage you to give it a good think. Not just the poem, I mean. Everything around you. The children playing in the yard, the elderly on wooden benches, the birds busy about their nests, etc. And if any thoughts of value come to mind, do tell me.
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JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 28 comments.

Thesilentraven PLATINUM said...
on Sep. 13 2011 at 7:05 pm
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;il piu nell&#039; uno,&quot; (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)<br /> <br /> &quot;Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality&quot; ~Emily Dickinson<br /> <br /> &quot;The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain&quot; <br /> ~Kahlil Gibran

View profile

Ah well, Mother Goose must protect her babies.

Ha, not much of a story. She was feeding the camel the wrong way and she ended up with her entire arm in the camel's mouth. I was quite young, so I don't really remember it. And no, they're the only two, thank goodness.

Swans are beautiful, aren't they? What's beautiful isn't always nice. Lions, for instance. :)

Aderes47 GOLD said...
on Sep. 13 2011 at 6:01 pm
Aderes47 GOLD, Cambridge, Massachusetts
11 articles 0 photos 897 comments

Favorite Quote:
You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love. <br /> Henry Drummond

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Raven, my tribute to you has finally been posted! It's called The Raven. :)
Aderes47 GOLD said...
on Sep. 13 2011 at 5:59 pm
Aderes47 GOLD, Cambridge, Massachusetts
11 articles 0 photos 897 comments

Favorite Quote:
You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love. <br /> Henry Drummond

View profile
I like swans because they are so pleasing to the eye, how beautiful and majestic they are. Also, they represent love to me. I wish to have the qualities of a swan, grace, elegance and beauty. Also, swans swim and fly and walk, all the stuff I would like to do all day. So they are not necessarily my favorite animals but if I could be any animal I would be a swan for those reasons. :)
Aderes47 GOLD said...
on Sep. 13 2011 at 5:55 pm
Aderes47 GOLD, Cambridge, Massachusetts
11 articles 0 photos 897 comments

Favorite Quote:
You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love. <br /> Henry Drummond

View profile
No, so my sister was going up to the baby swans to take a picture and then the Mother Swan(or should I say Mother Goose, pardon the pun) bit her foot. Oh yeah. Camels bite. But how did that happen? Tell me the story. You have a sister and a brother, interesting. Any more siblings? Well, swans are beautiful to me but at the same time I imagine them to be tender and tasty. And they are not the nicest creatures, my mother says they are selfish.
Thesilentraven PLATINUM said...
on Sep. 13 2011 at 5:33 pm
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;il piu nell&#039; uno,&quot; (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)<br /> <br /> &quot;Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality&quot; ~Emily Dickinson<br /> <br /> &quot;The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain&quot; <br /> ~Kahlil Gibran

View profile

Really? Did the swan just attack all out of the blue? My sister got bitten by a camel once.

They're your favorite animals, but they sound delicious? Ha, humans are funny that way. :)

Thesilentraven PLATINUM said...
on Sep. 13 2011 at 5:31 pm
Thesilentraven PLATINUM, Mableton, Georgia
40 articles 2 photos 1632 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;il piu nell&#039; uno,&quot; (according to Emerson, an Italian expression for beauty)<br /> <br /> &quot;Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality&quot; ~Emily Dickinson<br /> <br /> &quot;The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain&quot; <br /> ~Kahlil Gibran

View profile
No, can't say I have. What's it about?
Aderes47 GOLD said...
on Sep. 11 2011 at 5:21 pm
Aderes47 GOLD, Cambridge, Massachusetts
11 articles 0 photos 897 comments

Favorite Quote:
You will find as you look back upon your life that the moments when you have truly lived are the moments when you have done things in the spirit of love. <br /> Henry Drummond

View profile
From reading your little comment, I was reminded by the geese in the park and also one time we were in Prospect Park in NYC visiting family and my sister got bitten on her foot by a swan. LOL! This poem makes me feel guilty because I heard that they used to roast swans and I always thought that sounded delicious even swans are my fav animals. Again, bravo! From one of the masters of poetry! :)
savetheplanet PLATINUM said...
on Sep. 11 2011 at 4:15 pm
savetheplanet PLATINUM, Anaheim, California
45 articles 9 photos 564 comments

Favorite Quote:
It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.

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Hmmm, an interesting, thought provoking poem.  Have you perchance, read The Most Dangerous Game?