Monday 24 March 2008

Amazonia

The year I was born
the plane went down over
uncharted land, drowning in green
endless forest, choking damp heat.

Rare parrots watched.
Howler monkeys shouted
through the trees
news of something never seen before.

The crew had no chance.
Rescue teams heard the call
but failed to locate
in endless dense canopy.

Now the bones and wreckage
lie in arid suburban gardens
where at night, the ghosts of howler monkeys scream
and extinct parrots flutter through restless dreams.



previously published in Moonstone and on the  My Delayed Reactions blog, here

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

So many ghosts of creatures we could have saved. Once again, a very thought-provoking piece.

Anonymous said...

And we have to live woth those ghosts of our own making...

Joyce Ellen Davis said...

Great poem for the prompt! Beautiful.

polona said...

a poignant tale and a powerful poem!

Janice Thomson said...

What an impact this leaves - excellent writing Juliet.

chicklegirl said...

Yes, absolutely perfect for the prompt. Haunting.

jillypoet said...

This is a haunting poem. Leaves a lasting impression and makes me wonder what is beneath our own suburban gardens? The last stanza is so vivid. No wonder it was published. Interesting idea for a prompt, too. What happened the day/year you were born?

WH said...

This paints a really vivid pic, much like scenes of planes hanging lifeless in the Amazon or upside down fighters in Vietnam jungles. This was really well done. Very crisp and sharp.

Scot said...

the ending lines are excellent

Linda Jacobs said...

Chilling and, unfortunately, true. So well done!

Anonymous said...

This is so gripping.

RG said...

I know what is under my garden ... rocks and rocks and rocks ... all left from the glacier.

I think maybe we have actually gotten more things to grow than were here before people! I hope so, that is the plan.

Anonymous said...

Spooky poem! But marvellously moving and emotional too. Good job :o)

Anonymous said...

P.S Hope you had a nice Easter! :-D

Anonymous said...

This poem is interesting, because it carries a message about deforestaion, but also seems to recall a plane crash, that is if I'm reading it correctly. How the planet has changed in your lifetime, and mine, is haunting.

I wonder how the other creatures perceive these events, especially after reading your poem.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Crafty Green Poet said...

okay I don't normally delete comments but then most people don't leave 15 paragraph comments that bear no relevance to the post in quiestion. If you have a relevent short(ish) comment to make Anonymous, please leave one...

Gemma Wiseman said...

A beautifully disturbing poem!

We have crashed in the wild jungle world and created our own jungle of destruction!

Terrific line up of ideas!

Crafty Green Poet said...

christina - the story of the poem is about a plane crash but the plane landed in inpenetrable forest but now this land is desert and the wreckage has been revealed.

Gowri said...

Very poignant. We don't realise how much damage we cause in short spans of time.

Beautifully written.