Tuesday 1 June 2010

Slick

Some birds’ beauty
comes from iridescence –
the play of light revealing
changing colours buried
in black feathers.

Don’t be misled.

Any bird that swims
the rainbows
of this congealed sea
will find not beauty

but death.

16 comments:

Annette Tait said...

very touching Juliet, and sad that it is true and happening now.

Kat Mortensen said...

Lovely and simply told, but such a tragic reality.

Kat

Glenna said...

The poetry is lovely, but the situation is so awful that I can't even look at the photos.

Bill said...

slick
pumping up
the PR

Gabrielle Bryden said...

Exactly! Great poem.

Anonymous said...

It is a tragedy. I am in tears about it every day. I'd like to string the powers that be in BP up by the you-know-whats.

angela recada said...

Terrific poem, Juliet. Such well-crafted words about a horrendous man-made environmental disaster.

RG said...

... but there is a small army of good-fairy angels working to rescue the poor creatures.

If there were an oil spill here in our waters (3 refinerys supplied by tankers with Alaskan crude) - well, for every person deployed to clean up the spill (which they would be paid to do) there would be 100 or 1,000 caring for the wildlife - for nothing but the need to.

Devika Jyothi said...

Yes Juliet...the ultimate truth is death...and there's beauty there too, if its natural,

And it all looks so beautiful because we know it will pass...and we will die...the thought that makes us plunge more!

Nice poem,

wishes,
devika

Devika Jyothi said...

Oh but yes, it is a collective responsibility to save and sustain the environment,

Its been nice to read about the works you do, Juliet...environment is a subject of great interest to me too :)

wishes,
devika

KaHolly said...

Such thought provoking verse. Sad, but true.

Caroline Gill said...

Poignant and punchy, Juliet. As Annette implies, 'sad but true'. I am reminded of the truth in those words from Wilfred Owen - 'all a poet can do today is warn'...

Ana said...

could not imagine better words...

The Weaver of Grass said...

Such a tragedy Juliet - all down to mans' greed I am afraid.

Titus said...

Thank you, Poet.

James said...

I really like the way you bring iridescnce and rainbows into this and turn them into signs of death. Well done.