Hunter-Gatherers

By Ed Crane

Wed, 03 Sep 2014
  • 1224 reads
5 comments
 

Hunter- Gatherers we are not.
. . .  No more. But when the Sun
sets a little further south and sinks
slightly lower at noon each day, the
urge overwhelms to store away
hazel nuts in leafy cups, open pocked
green flesh to get walnut goodness
ready for December cold and stain
fingers purple with bramble-berry
juice. With bucket in hand and bags
at our side we take advantage of
nature’s, get one free offers. But
when we’ve stripped branches and
filled pantries for later, we should
always feel a tad sad, for the Squirrels’
and Blackbirds’ whose need is greater.

Certificate U
Poem
Philosophy
Nature

Comments

Submitted by scratch on

Excellent and prescient.  I particularly like;

"slightly lower at noon each day, the

urge overwhelms to store away

hazel nuts in leafy cups, open pocked

green flesh to get walnut goodness"

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

I loved this poem and agree,  we should always keep some nuts and fruit back for the animals.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by Bee on

Hi Ed.

There are hazel bushes the height of trees outside my house and we neighbours love to watch the squirrels busily gathering. But every year, this couple drive in from a mile or so away and strip as many as they can get in their bags, then come back for more. Even if everyone took a few, it would leave some for the squirrels, but they want the lot. The same, as you say in your beautiful poem about blackberries and such for creatures whose need will be greater than ours. I love free food, but it can be enjoyed whilst being mindful of nature and without greed. 

You should submit this piece to a nature magazine. The words are lovely.

Bee

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

Having just boiled up 2 big saucepans of blackberries … we have a 'sitter' provided by the council on Wednesday afternoons so that my husband and I can get out together leaving his mother - used to be his father too - and how lovely to go blackberrying on a Shropshire hill, with lovely views too!, and my husband loves going out to see how many more hazlenuts have fallen off the little growing gree in the garden, and put them to dry … but I can assure you there are a superabundance of blackberries on that hillside, and I don't think squirrels are short around here as there is much countryside, but maybe we had better think about the bird-feeding hangers too this winter. (Last year I was forgetful with rather a lot of attention needed by those in-laws).

I did like the description of the approach of autumn, so concise. Rhiannon
 

 

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

A lovely poem, and the comments that follow are poetic too.