AUSTRALIA ~ The Antipodes

AUSTRALIA ~ The Antipodes
I love a sunburnt country / A land of sweeping plains / Of ragged mountain ranges / Of droughts and flooding rains / I love her far horizons / I love her jewel-sea / Her beauty and her terror / The wide brown land for me / ~ Dorothea Mackellar (1885-1968)

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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Nature's Rights


Pic by Gemma Wiseman ~ Somehow these silhouettes of wintering branches seem to create an eerie, intimidating drama in the fading sunset light ~ Dromana Hills, Mornington Peninsula
~
3WW #CXCIX ~ abuse + cramp + hatred
~

If we cramp Nature
We abuse caretaker rights
Cursed beyond hatred
~
NOTE: Humanity is driven to progress, to construct. That is our inner need.
But to ignore peripheral impacts on Nature, I feel, is our downfall.
Respect for Nature, her cycles, her systems should feature more highly on our agenda.
Science tells us that for every action, there is always a subsequent (and often equal) reaction...
~

Hosted by Thom @ Three Word Wednesday

15 comments:

Ellie Garratt said...

That picture is stunning. Very atmospheric. One of my favourites!

Sepiru Chris said...

Hi Gemma,

I left 3WW, unwillingly, for four months, and the first submission I see on my return is another haikuist; how fantastic is that? (Very is the expected answer.)

So, seeing as I how I have been in a Latin mood, today, I have a Latin-centric question for you regarding your 3WW-inspired poem.

Who is hating and who is being hated?

Latin, orthographically, allows for no ambiguity of subject or object of an action; one of the joys of English is the greater ambiguity possible.

Obviously we, in your poem, have been granted caretaker rights. But whom has been cursed, us or Nature?

I assume that you meant the poem to be ambiguous in this regards, which is interesting; has Nature been cursed, or the Caretakers? I like the dichotomy of perspectives that you provide.

I do stumble, though, on the very last line.

What is cursed beyond hatred?

I truly am not sure what that would be, or, experientially, where that would be, especially as English from John Milton onwards is replete with lines of people moving beyond hatred, which are invariably meant to allude to passing beyond the reach of hatred into a world of forgiveness or compassion or at least acceptance.

But, that is not the meaning that I am guessing that you are trying to elicit in the reader's mind.

So, I stop there, right at the threshold of the exit of you poem, and pause, because I am unclear on what you actually intended.

I hope that you don't mind my making these comments; I try to leave constructive comments throughout the community, until I tire or run out of time. Which happens. Likely rapidly, this week.

I am delighted to see everyone at 3WW, new and old, and it is a pleasure to see more haikuists.

So, cheers.

Tschuess,
Chris

Julie Jordan Scott said...

I love how this short poem leaves me thinking, contemplating... especially
cursed beyond hatred.

Hmmmm.

My 3WW exploration and call to further writing action.

Inday said...

Oh No! ...such powerful and strong words!

Rinkly Rimes said...

The haiku encapsulated your feeling; the prose enlarged. A good combination.

Thomma Lyn said...

Oh wow, gorgeous picture! And wise words in your haiku. For me, "cursed beyond hatred" calls to mind the disrespect for nature that is part and parcel of a conquering, short-sighted mentality.

Stan Ski said...

We certainly cramped nature over in the Gulf of Mexico, and the curse beyond hatred was applied to its 'caretakers'

dolorah said...

Thought provoking. I'm sure I was influenced by the pix. I spent several minutes gazing at it.

.........dhole

Anonymous said...

Fabulous photo and I love the haiku.

http://thelaughinghousewife.wordpress.com

Ramesh Sood said...

Very beautiful.. few words.. great depth..let us take care..

Vinay Leo R. said...

i wanted to do a ku too, but took a cinquain instead for 3ww..

ur 3ww is strong, n poignant. well said :)

Unknown said...

this is another classic from your collection.

Jay R. Thurston said...

As I have made reference in my story this week to the character Dustin being tired of hearing about the Gulf oil spill, I feel your haiku is fresh, current, timely... Nature does deserve respect. Nature and humans are at one another's mercy.

Anonymous said...

as always i sigh looking at yr sea fotos and commenting to myself i gotta get back to the sea... iam struck by the beauty of your foto and words.. caretakers we are indeed of ourselves and the world around us... beyond the curse we are blessed...

Anonymous said...

lovely! couldn't agree more and that picture is absolutely stunning.

CALENDAR

Tasmania

Tasmania
A place of beauty in the Western Tiers

Tasmania

Tasmania
View near Blackwood Park Cottages, Mole Creek

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Archive of Blog Quotes

  • A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken. ~James Dent
  • Autumn is an introspective season when stray thoughts of the mind dive into the mystique of the soul - Gemma Wiseman
  • Autumn is the bridesmaid of Summer and the flowergirl of Winter ~ Gemma Wiseman
  • Autumn whispers the tones of yesterday in a minor key ~ Gemma Wiseman
  • Love is born / With a dark and troubled face, / When hope is dead / And in the most unlikely place; / Love is born, / Love is always born. - Michael Leunig's Christmas Song Cycle "Southern Star"
  • Spring paints the stars of heaven in Earth colours ~ Gemma Wiseman
  • Summer sizzles with a sibilant hush / Broken by dreams of / Clinking ice ~ Gemma Wiseman
  • The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year. It is that we should have a new soul. - G.K. Chesterton
  • Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all. - Stanley Horowitz
  • Winter is the fire, simmering lonely in the soul ~ Gemma Wiseman
  • Winter is the shadow, the etching of the seasons in the mist ~ Gemma Wiseman

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