THE VANISHING SPECIES by Ric Masten
I was born on a planet almost seventy seven light years from here
an idyllic world where children grew up without the threat of nuclear holocaust or global warming
no instant messaging systems no black revolutions gay revolutions
drug revolutions
no woman's liberation not even the choice of taking or not taking the pill
true the seed of all this was there but had nothing to do with my formative years
and now I find myself come to this harsh place a kind of space traveler having close encounters with my own children
like creatures from different star systems we stare at each other across the void
even our words have different stems
we are aliens in each others midst but damn it I am the one saddled with the memory of that other place
part of a colony stranded on planet earth at the beginning of the twenty first century
marooned with no way to go back and no time to go on
like a moon being eclipsed my kind will soon be gone
and in light of the headlines today the sooner the better
(When I copied and pasted this, it all ran together, so I have no idea where the line breaks should be. Apologies to all if they are wrong.)
It was Bobbie who introduced me to Ric Masten, and I am grateful for both of them!
13 comments:
I'm so glad that you enjoy Ric Masten's poetry and art as much as I do. My daughter, Kathryn, was the one who introduced me to him. He lived not far from her home in CA.
I think you did just fine with the line breaks. Great poem.
Wonderful poem.
Now it is time for me to research more of Ric Mastens' poetry.
This kindof gave me chills...I'm exactly of his generation and can relate so much.
That poems speaks for many of us.
Cool. There are still some of us younger generations who feel the same way. Going to check out more from him....
I am a lover of poetry and this was very thought provoking - thanks for the tip on Ric Masten - I'm going to check it out.
I,too, have to research Ric.
Very interesting poem... and like one of your other comments said... gave me the chills. Hard to do on a hot day like today....;)
As long as I am fit and healthy I don't feel 'the sooner the better'. Not today when the sun shines.
77 is today's 50:)
That poem is wonderful!
Wow.
Fascinating poem There's more there that can be absorbed in one reading.
No revolutions... interesting. It makes me think about childhood... there are no revolutions there either.
~S
I googled and found the poem ... and your comment about it. Then I came back here and discovered Bobbie is linked in your post and also commented here. Oh, well, here's the link to see where the line breaks are:
http://bobbie-almostthere.blogspot.com/2008/05/vanishing-species.html
Post a Comment