Standing pensive beneath a waterfall,
within a tropical rainforest a native
peers through the cascade of a gentle
mist, a rainbow of colours reflected,
a complex network of uncultivated wilderness
he stops to listen, Macaws call to each other
high up in the trees, monkeys swing grasping
fruit on their way then stop to eat their fill,
stepping from the cooling water he remembers
his late fathers words, "the monsters are
coming to destroy our world, they will eat up
our forest, then will come the dragons of the
air to breathe fire. Son the world we know will
be lost forever."
Those words stick in his mind as he hears the
distressing sound of engines, though he knows
not what they are, but that they get closer
each day, destroying everything in their path,
his bare feet hardened to the rough terrain,
he moves with ease further into the forest
knowing the scarred, futile land has been
devastated at the hands of these strangers,
he feels them moving closer and closer to his
humble village, he fears the worst will come.
Comments
Highhat | March 8, 2011 - 15:32
The civilised world is upon the rainforest. It is so sad.
Thanks for this poem Jenny
;)Pia
skinner_jennifer | March 8, 2011 - 16:14
Thankyou Pia for your kind words, I got the idea
after seeing a picture in the paper of some villagers
being photographed, I say 'I wish they would leave
them alone,' like you said, so sad.
Thanks for reading and commenting much appreciated.
Jenny.
maggyvaneijk | March 8, 2011 - 16:29
A beautiful poem, filled with a horrible dread, it reminded me a bit of Human Planet :)
skinner_jennifer | March 8, 2011 - 16:49
Thanks so much maggyvaneijk,
I love those kind of programmes, being a nature
lover, I try not to miss any of them, my favourite
narrator being David Attenborough what a great man
he is.
I thought I would write my feelings down, it does
help get some of my frustrations out of my system.
Thankyou for reading this piece and your comments,
just great.
Jenny.
sue dinum | March 8, 2011 - 18:57
Hi, Jenny. Another well-written, thought-provoking piece. You are very good at this sort of thing. Thanks for the read.
sue
Silver Spun Sand | March 8, 2011 - 19:04
Really, really enjoyed this one, Jenny. Very well written;-)
Tina
fatboy74 | March 8, 2011 - 22:35
Yes very atmospheric and agree with Tina very well written. Well done Jenny. :-)
seashore | March 9, 2011 - 10:20
I very much enjoyed this Jenny.
skinner_jennifer | March 9, 2011 - 13:18
Hi sue,
thankyou for your kind words, I'm so pleased that
you found it thought-provoking, I just had to let
my feelings out.
Thanks again,
Jenny.
skinner_jennifer | March 9, 2011 - 13:20
Hi Tina,
that is really kind of you to let know that you
found it well written, it gives me confidence to
carry on writing. Thankyou for reading and glad
you liked it.
Jenny.
skinner_jennifer | March 9, 2011 - 13:24
Hi fatboy,
it's great to think that you caught the atmosphere
of this piece, it's always nice for me, if the
reader can picture the scene in their mind.
Thankyou for reading and such a wonderful comment.
Jenny.
skinner_jennifer | March 9, 2011 - 13:25
Hi seashore,
that's great that you enjoyed this piece, thankyou
for letting me know and reading.
Jenny.
well-wisher | March 14, 2011 - 15:06
I think this is really good. However, I read it more as a short story than a poem. As a short story, I think it works very well and as ever, your wonderful descriptions bring the landscape to life infront of me.
I cared about the boy; his fear of the unknown and his sadness at the destruction of the world he knows.
I felt his vulnerability; his softness compared with the harshness of what is approaching. I also like that its an unfinished story, leaving us uncertain of wether the boys world that is teetering on the brink of destruction will survive, just as the future of our rainforests and our world are so uncertain.
It also brought to mind the John Boorman film, "The Emerald Forest" which has always been one of my favourite films.
skinner_jennifer | March 14, 2011 - 16:31
Hi well-wisher,
you read this piece so well and got the feeling of
it.
I read it through and I think you're right, it does
read as a story rather than a poem, so I'm going to
change it.
Thanks for reading and your help.
Jenny.