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My Indigenous Garden
| Open Poetry #47 |
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My Indigenous Garden |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa 
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MY INDIGENOUS GARDEN OR SHE TALKS TO THE TREES - WHEN WILL THEY PUT HER AWAY? OR EXERCISE-IN-SQUASHING-AS-MANY-ADJECTIVES-AS-POSSIBLE-INTO-ONE-POOR-UNSUSPECTING-LITTLE-POEM August 1998 You, my morning forest, my early morning forest, my dew-awakened, early morning forest; You with your dark shapes softening into gold; You, who seat your little daybreak choristers whose tiny lungs inflate with leaf-clean dawn and scent of wet-earth green, and explode into harmonising joy, to herald the unfurling day and greet those who will listen, and the sun; You with your pranks, A flutter of water on my head, No, not a bird, but had it been, who cares? Perhaps you know what shampoos and hairdryers do, and short hair dries so quickly too; You with your damp, soft-cushioned, morning carpet of mellowed leaves on forest grass, Shiver-cold under my naked feet, You, my early morning forest, are my tremulous inspiration. You, my day-time forest, With your honeyed acacia breath, You with your bustling avian Hillbrow whose verdant skyscrapers quiver with life… LBJ’s and flashes of colour dart from one inviting delicatessen to another with traffic sounds of chatter-chirrups and liquid arias; You with your surprises - The sometimes mid-morning picnics, especially when the pigeonwoods are fruiting, of a bounding troop of monkeys who find the time to play as well as feed; If I keep still, they regard me as one of them, deformed and stretched and strangely inept at movement and communication, but one of them, though the alpha male watches me the way an alpha male will do when the smallest ones play Dare-To-Swing-Too-Close-To-This-Grandmother-Of-All-Monkeys, then leap back to their comfort zone and on to other games… then comes the silent signal, and, with a whoosh of flying goodbye branches, they all depart, thundering over the roof; You, my daytime forest with your carpet crisp, where hadedahs delve almost at my feet; Then, once a mongoose …..slender with black-tipped tail … I held my breath as this elegant creature of the night stood motionlessly watching me in dappled daylight without apparent fear. I held my breath and every muscle for one forever minute until his eye and he flowed back into the undergrowth… You with your sun-splashed butterflies who tease the fractious light and shadows that play games with your multitudinous nuances of green; You with your red and yellow blossoms into orange; You, my daytime forest, are my blazing optimism. But you, my night forest, You, with your ghostly, green-white-wooded fever trees, their graceful arms spread wide, lure me from your fringe into your dark-barked depths; You, with your white night blossoms’ sweet, sweet fragrance, You with your silent moments… and your tiny night sounds, You with your shelter from civilisation and your leaf-patterned moon, You are my DNA. Owl |
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| © Copyright 2011 Diana van den Berg - All Rights Reserved | |||
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JerryPat Senior Member
since 2010-10-30
Posts 1991Louisiana/America |
Aw, the monkeys and their chattering up high checking you out is a marvelous image to behold. You speak of the garden as though is understands. Maybe it does. the mongoose stare off was compelling and vital to the life of the poem. Excellent. ~ Good health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die. ~ |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
I absolutely love what you said. I think perhaps you are right and my garden does understand. The bond with the mongoose was compelling for me too. I had two similar experiences on two nights far apart with a genet. The first time, I got a magnificent photo of it. It was right below my window. However, that camera was stolen out of my bedroom (with me in it - "me" was in the bedroom, not in the camera!) before I could get it on to the computer. The second time, I crept out quietly to get the camera - no longer keeping it in my bedroom - but the genet had gone by the time I got back. I will post my poem called "Conversation With a Zebra Foal and his Mama" soon. I know you will enjoy sharing that experience. Owl [This message has been edited by OwlSA (01-23-2011 09:45 AM).] |
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Martie
Moderator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-09-21
Posts 28049California |
Diana...Oh, how I want to run in the grass of your thoughts here and be part of what you see. Just lovely!! |
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The_Doctors_Angel_32 Member
since 2011-01-14
Posts 337Florida, USA |
This is beautifully written. Wish I had a garden like this. My mind is so simple though. When the family is together, the soul is at peace - Russian Proverb |
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secondhanddreampoet Member Ascendant
since 2006-11-07
Posts 6394a 'Universalist' ! |
grand-fine cascading imagery in this wonderful impression! a great pleasure to read! |
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Lori Grosser Rhoden Member Patricius
since 2009-10-10
Posts 10202Fair to middlin' of nowhere |
to be so at one with your surroundings and then take us into that oneness with your words is incredible. Thank you for taking me there. Lori |
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steavenr Member Elite
since 2003-11-17
Posts 4058 |
I read this the first time with a headache and told myself to come back to it later...so glad that I did. There is an artfulness to it that is simply exquisite. I love your word choices and how they paint such a beautiful picture on the mind...then the ending...you've re-captured the essence of the write for the reader and left this reader silently mouthing a series of ooohs, aaahhhs, and wows...oh, and I liked it  |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
Thank you, Martie. You are most welcome to do so, of course! Smiles. Thank you, Julie. I am glad you liked it. Thank you, Bruce, for your magnificent comment. Thank you, Lori. You understand so well, how I feel about Nature. It was my pleasure to take you there. Owl |
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OwlSA Member Rara Avis
since 2005-11-07
Posts 9347Durban, South Africa |
I have only seen your lovely reply now. I don't know how I missed it. I kknow you won't see this because this is buried in the depths of the archives, but I still want to thank you anyway. [This message has been edited by OwlSA (10-13-2019 05:07 AM).] |
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