Elegy for a Dying Earth

(Day 8: Flavor, Elegy, Enumeratio)

©October 15th, 2015

By Vijaya Sundaram

I fear the earth has come to reap what we have sown

In haste, we sowed the breeze, and reaped this hateful wind

And through this storm, we’ll miss those things we loved so well

The rain, the snow, the flowers, this land– for we have sinned.

 

Not sins against a God, or gods, or goddesses

But sins against the likes of us, of you and me,

Against our children full of confusion and hurt

To whom we give our ravaged earth, and dying seas.

 

I’ll miss the scent of rain on dusty earth, the scent

Of budding rose, and jasmine sweet, and marigold.

We’ll see the ponds go dry in summer months, and geese

That leave in droves, will seek new lands, and mourn the old.

 

Now, storms and hurricanes ravage our broken lands

And dolphins strand themselves, and turtles gasp, and more —

Asphyxiated fish that choke in netted seas

Lie dead and blind upon our broken, littered shores.

 

I mourn them all, the birds, and animals, and plants

I mourn us all, so smug, so proud, so full of greed

With eyes of death, he chokes our breath– that demon, Wealth;

And laughs at us, although we cry; for mercy, plead.

 

What hope have we, who heed his lusty, tempting call?

What chance this earth against that mighty money-song?

If we but stop and turn things round (turn off the lights!)

We might yet live, and save what’s right, avert what’s wrong.

 

So, close your eyes, and step outside, while life yet thrives

And taste the beauty of this fragile Earth, who gives,

Such wealth, her fruit and flowers, and these, our forests wild,

So fragrant, fresh and sweet, in places that still live.

____________________________________________________________________________

So, our assignment today was: Write an elegy, use flavor in your poem, and try the rhetorical device of Enumeratio

Alas, I attempted the Elegy form, but gave up almost instantly.  Still, just to challenge myself, I tried rhyming (It’s hard to resist a trite and easy rhyme scheme, but I really tried).  I’ll probably go back to tweak this poem!  This is only my second draft!

Also, I remembered almost too late that I needed to incorporate “flavor,” so I tried that, too.

My Enumeratio needs work, but I tried, I tried!

So, just as I did last week, when I attempted a classical Ode, and followed it with my next (non-Classical) Ode, I shall aim for another Elegy, but that will come later.  I have to run, now)

Thanks for reading, all!

(P.S.  So, I went back in just now – and tweaked three or four lines, just rearranged some words, cut out some, added an “and” or a “so,” and suchlike.  It’s at times like these that I remember my favorite Oscar Wilde, who once said words to the effect of, “I’m exhausted.  I spent all morning putting in a comma, and all afternoon taking it out.”)