Meadow Argus / Photographed in Solomon Islands / Michael Sammut
Meditations from My Room
I share different company in my isolation.
Dogs litter my studio floor,
and my backyard is
an in-between place for birds
passing as though at a freeway interchange,
this way and that.
A constant flutter of butterflies
stirs air around the orange and yellow thunbergia,
lush in this season that mixes sun and rain.
They soar down to the empty lot
and back again,
as though no creature can resist
collecting here in my domain.
Nature follows no rules of man.
It cannot learn obeisance or heed human leverage.
Our world, professional and polished—
how easily by nature now turned inward upon itself.
Our burnished world can hold no sway,
for nature heeds no golden cow.
Her empathy extended toward the broader view,
nature must change the things she can.
She has been patient with us long enough. The time is now.
For dVerse Poets
To see more poems written for this prompt, go HERE.
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
The sharp bite at the end is a powerful contrast to the lyrical lines that come before. I think we’re seeing how nature changes right now with the fires around LA.
I liked the image this made me see: “as though no creature can resist
collecting here in my domain. “
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The California fires are heartbreaking as those are my old stomping grounds that I knew well. Many I know have not come fully “out” since the Covid scare and that is certainly what made me more of a homebody, but in doing so, showed me the wonders of my garden which is now my biggest solace in distressing times. Thanks for your close reading of and response to the poem, Merril.
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You’re very welcome, Judy. We are living in a scary time, and it’s fortunate you have your garden.
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It helps abate the daily news!!!
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As an avid nature lover and proponent of turning grass yards into native meadows, I love everything about this.
“nature heeds no golden cow” – Excellent!
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I bought the lot next to me to do exactly that, Cris. I can’t even see it unless I go to the edge of my let, open a gate and peer over my wall down into it and yet during the 2 years of Covid isolation, I loved seeing it take shape from the neighborhood dumping ground/trash heap into a wonderful meadow/garden. With construction around me for most of the 23 years I’ve been here, it is the one cushion.
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I like the solitary isolation of the beginning, where all are welcome and “no creature can resist
collecting here in my domain”,
contrasted with the battle cry of an ending, not so much a warning as a joining of forces. One person’s impact can make some difference.
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If only those with the power to really wreak changes would heed the obvious messages nature is sending. Maybe AI will do a better job of managing our world and certainly part of it will be getting rid of us!
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A beautiful poem ending with a powerful message
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Thanks, Sadje. As alarmist as it sounds, I think certainly justified. I always appreciate your comments…
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It is and we need to be heedful
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I expect nature to bite back and shed humanity like a stray dog gets rid of lice
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Well, nature is certainly living up to your expectations.. and mine.
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I cannot agree more!
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I’m glad you provide a place of respite for the critters. We have shrunk their available space and the biosphere is becoming dreadfully anemic. What we don’t sustain will not sustain us!
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Well and truly said, Eilene.
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Judy, so eloquently composed. ❤ ❤ ❤ It’s a keeper — for as long as we’re around to keep things anyway… I admire Mother Nature’s patience, but enough is enough.
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I know. Sad, sad. Guess we are going to earn our own extinction.
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Was it Shakespeare who said, “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry…”? I think that’s where I’m at right now.
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