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Question: What say to "Bering Strait, Mexico, And New York" Poem!?



1!. Migration

The pregnant and the old straggled along jagged cliffs,
Following their young hunters' path!.!.!.no frost-snorting horses
To carry the sick!. Only thick-furred, black dogs!.!.!.pets when
Stomachs were full!.
Sons, born in the mountain snows, did not cry in the plains below!.
Wails filled the high passes, etching stunted trees, then
Drifted down!.!.!.on!.
Voices echoed to each other!. Bones marked the trail!. When pelts
Hung loose on hips!.!.!.shadows sat around the fire, grim-jawed,
Faces grizzled!.
Children laughed with the puppies at sunset!. And old men smiled
Through their eyes!.
By dawn, fire ashes cold, footsteps wound to the south, disturbing
Only shriveled blades!.
A week-old wolf kill!.!.!.arms became strong!. An ancient deer dying
By a stream!.!.!.stomachs quieted!.
A shadow!.!.!.holding a skull to the waning sun!.

2!. Mexico

To the moon, an upraised, warrior skull!.!.!.chants scattered the
Density of sweet incense!.
Limestone blocks riveled red, priests' hair matted, robes stained
Stiff!.
A young girl waited in a damp chamber!. She smiled for her young
Man in the war!. Tlaloc-God came!. As she ascended temple steps,
Her love, shorn of Eagle armor, proudly entered the enemies camp,
Wrists fettered!.

At dawn, corn cakes sizzled!.!.!.old women stirred peppers into the
Beans!. Two boys played with Jaguar claws!. The father hoed corn!.
At dawn, twelve thousand chained, climbed temple steps!.
The Hummingbird God came!.!.!.blood ran to the plains!. Drums died
At twilight!. Cakes, beans devoured!. The father went to his field!.

3!. Thirty-Fifth Street

Offices hang in parallels!. Coolers bubble!. Khaki-clad janitors shuffle
Down vacant halls!.
Huge glass doors are locked against streets!.
In kerosene-scented basements, the sick dream feverishly
Of cool, mountain streams!.!.!.snow, sorrow!.
Pictures of animals, trees, crowd split, plastered walls!.
Electric poles lift arms to the sun!.!.!.sparrows twitter
Over crumbs!.
Ambulances shriek past red-lighted intersections to waiting pain,
Deposit their sheeted burden!.!.!.
Search for another!.

Somewhere on the Old Continent, fur-cuffed, weather-wrinkled hands,
Skin their kills
With finely manufactured
Japanese knives!.


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Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
I have read this several times and well the battle still continues for life and death Whether your your at the Bering Strait or in midtown Manhattan,,,I like the way you brought all three stories together and how each are different but all woven into one How it all comes full circle Each time i read it I came away with something different and yet it all connects,,,,,,,,,Very Well Done
I don't know if my answer has made any sense it's 1230am after a long day I totality enjoyed this piece One of the reasons is it makes you think and with the imagery Makes for a Great Writing ,,,,,,Thank youWww@QuestionHome@Com

What once was old, is new again!. Now, then, tomorrow, the people are the same!. Time and locations may be different, but we all still fight, struggle to live!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Great imagery as usual!. Fascinating twisting the three together to show how they still are very related!. This will be reread again today!. My compliments!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Excellent!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Wow, that's what I say!.

Excellent mind transportation via well penned words!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I love the mix of old and new with the common thread!. Bravo!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

"LUV" the Bering Straight (And it's People & History)!.!.!.!.!!Www@QuestionHome@Com

Again I say, this is how it is done, people!.

A poem is not a children's story!. There must be references, as to 9-11 in the New York portion!. There must be imagery, mystery, meter, vocabulary, knowledge!. It must engage the senses!. Read this poem silently, aloud!. Read it again!. Learn!Www@QuestionHome@Com

That last little stanza was great; even those that we think time forgot have been touched by technology and globalization!. It brings the poem around to a complete circle!. I couldn't help ending my boycott of the Poetry section to answer that!.

Each one of these could stand alone as a poem, but you know which one is my favorite, though!.

Thanks for sharing!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Great parallelism and very enjoyable to read!.
Criticism: In a few places the imagery may be piled on a little too excessively, and there are a couple of out-of-place shifts in the tone, which, although probably accurately placed given the scenarios being described, seem slightly off when reading!.
Great work, Keep at it!Www@QuestionHome@Com