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From the Soddy Journal - Fear in the Sky - 1875
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From the Soddy Journal - Fear in the Sky - 1875 |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart 
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From the Soddy Journal - Fear in the Sky - 1875 Perhaps had he not befriended the Indian, Had not immersed himself in their knowing culture, We should have, could have starved Those weeks after their ascent, not the Indians, but a natural disaster Far worse than man upon man, We could now call A miracle For at least one would hope That man to man, eye to eye, Terror could be resolved, But how does one look into the Eye of plague, proportionately biblical Where is resolve in one’s backbone If not by digesting the backbone Of its invader, as observed, in Surviving on the hopper? There were times, of course, We had seen it before, Large hordes of natural insects Infesting the land, but never Never Had we seen black rain, a deluge Stripping barer than newborn the land we so struggled to have Come alive  Green and growing Grains, corns, grasses, trees, bushes, Saw affectation by these black clouds, A noise of wave coming, going, Baring all, our children fearful, but Safely tucked in the Soddy, Our herd mooing, horses neighing, Wings whirring, one could hear The desiccation, As all that had been summer, Became warmly winterized He had known, having heard Of this coming, hoping Only rumor, fearing truth, Then using known Webbed techniques for gathering Black flying hordes, for if they Left us no food, they Would become sustenance until Better times… So we bit our tongues and Fooled our minds, naming various meals “Flying Crawfish” or “Fried Fingers” With many a fricassee of the Larger hoppers slightly enjoyed, For dessert bravely relishing “Desert Fruitcake” We had heard, later, When the weather grew cooler, As the hordes continued east, They attracted to rail lines, Heat making tracks Appealing, Their numbers stopping trains, For their greasy bodies, crushed, Made getting up grades Slippery… One day, some may wonder How we survived, as Some will look back on times Having heard, perhaps, Through a remnant Of a newspaper, of the plagues Suffered, nature’s way of weaning A man from the land if he is strong, To survive in alternate ways, but Crushing him, if weak… Some could not take it, and I, In silence, wondered, until I stood By him under the bare cottonwood, No colors this fall, Saw the steel in his eye, felt His grip on my hand, Wrenching determination from my Soul to his Our gaze took in the barren plain, The Soddy, our children, The rocks left behind… Had I not been there, he would not Have stayed; Had he not been there, I could not Have survived. ©Karilea Rilling Jungel 5 January 2002 Photo, courtesy of ag.smsu.edu [This message has been edited by Sunshine (01-05-2002 08:30 AM).] |
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| © Copyright 2002 Karilea Rilling Jungel - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Kethry Member Rara Avis
since 2000-07-29
Posts 9082Victoria Australia |
Kari, Another wonderful soddy tale. Very real and vivid. Keth Here in the midst of my lonely abyss, a single joy I find...your presence in my mind. Unknown |
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Denise
Moderator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-08-22
Posts 22648 |
Fantastic piece of writing, Karilea! Well done! |
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SEA 
Moderator
Member Seraphic
since 2000-01-18
Posts 22676with you |
you take me there, and let my eyes see it....you really are an excellent writer.... I can't imagine going through something like that, much less having to eat my way through it.....wow! |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
Karilea, this is going into a special folder, one I should entitle 'Real Americans History.' It is an absolutely wonderful piece of the past, and reflects well on man's ability to cross many barriers, to reach out and help another human in need. I love it. HUGS.  |
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JamesMichael Member Empyrean
since 1999-11-16
Posts 33336Kapolei, Hawaii, USA |
All generations have their enemies and plaques...now we have items such as terrorists and nuclear weapons to destroy us...James |
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strbbux Member Elite
since 2001-12-19
Posts 3859 |
A wonderful work of art in this piece. wonderful work. floria |
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Mistletoe Angel
since 2000-12-17
Posts 32816Portland, Oregon |
 BRAVO!!! Oh my gosh, this is sooooooo wonderfully descriptive, I too would never wish to crawl through such a disaster like this which can really tear at so much! (kiss on cheek) Soooooooo wonderful, sweet friend, this series is incredible! You have such a beautiful heart, sweet Karilea, thank you for sharing!  May love and light always shine upon you! Love, Noah Eaton |
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Logan Senior Member
since 2001-05-28
Posts 1641Arkansas |
Not only of what had to be faced, and was, but by the means to so do and go on later. A very good write, of the forces met, by a family determined to survive..ahh, Sis, your series gets better and better |
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Mysteria
since 2001-03-07
Posts 18328British Columbia, Canada |
Yikes I hate bugs of any kind  but you sure told this story so well Karilea. There is a similar story but hand-written in my Gramma's journal and when the locusts came they devoured everthing in their way and caused so much heartache. Rambling sorry LOL, in otherwords I loved this story. Keep them coming.~*~ Carpe' Diem ~*~ |
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Enchantress Member Empyrean
since 2001-08-14
Posts 35113Canada eh. |
Karilea, you knew I would come in here to see if I could find another one in the series and I was not disappointed! Love these, I do!! ~Hugs, Nancy~ ~* A dream is a wish your heart makes... *~ |
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thepoeticplumber Member
since 2001-05-15
Posts 185 |
What a fantastic writing. I could the swarms all around. I could feel his strength. I could feel family being held together through terror. I could feel respect for making it. But mostly, I could feel love. Roger |
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