Blog Action Day: Why Must It Be Beautiful?

MP3 File

What is it for, all this
beauty? The curve
of the spiral

from the laddered
twist of DNA
to the vast wave

of galaxies; the green
luna moth, breath-
taking & ordinary. 

Does the prey see
beauty in its predator?
Do gazelles admire

the leopard? Does
the seal lift
its sleek head

to gaze in wonder
at the bumbling,
lethal polar bear?

Our science tells us 
how. Our science
gives us reason.

But why must it be
beautiful? The aero-
nautic miracle

of the bumble bee;
the passing brilliance
of the butterfly. Surely

predators would be
more deterred by
ugliness. The hideous

and the platypus
have their own glory.
Humans have our

own glory. Do other
creatures adore
the useless,

the only gorgeous,
the green wave
of Northern Lights

dimming the stars?
The indented shadow
of the heron's bath

in a snowdrift? Why
must it be beautiful?
When we pass, with

the bee, with
the butterfly,
with the polar bear,

the leopard,
the gazelle,
who will grieve

this deep and terrible
loss? Who will delight
in what comes next?

I wonder if a poem could be like a butterfly?

Comments

[Cathy]

Simply excellent and powerful too.

[Bobbie]

Thank you Sharon. This is a wonderful contribution to Blog Action Day.

[Damien Riley]

Vivid imagery. Nice job.

[RecycleCindy]

A powerful poem with a powerful meaning. Thanks for your post for Blog Action Day. I really like that you did your own thing.

[clairec23]

Well done, an original way of highlighting blog action day :)

I return to find a poem of strength and beauty. I shall think on it and think again of the wonderful images you bring together. Fran

[fossfor]

this is a very moving poem, thanks so much for sharing it

[blage]

Quite beautiful and inspirational as well. Will check by your site again.

[Dick]

Powerful poetry & powerful polemic too. A rare combination.

[Jo]

I really enjoyed this, it is beautifully written.

[This Girl Remembers]

Oh my goodness, what a beautiful poem! That you so much for sharing it with us. This one will stay with me all day. :)

[my backyard]

wow, the spiral took you in so many different directions

[gautami]

"The curve
of the spiral

from the laddered
twist of DNA
to the vast wave

of galaxies"

In a nutshell, there contains all the beauty otherwise known as life. Thanks!

I am reading a lot of poems on life in TOP. Mine too is, in a way...

[Crafty Green Poet]

I like the unexpected angle you've come from here. I think Beauty is all about sex really, and sex means reproduction and keeps life going

[paisley]

very vivid and seemingly genuine in its feeling and concern... excellent

[dale]

Lovely. I'm of the inverse mind from Crafty Green; I think reproduction is really all about sex and sex is really all about beauty -- that the beauty is what's real and fundamental, and the physical facts are the incidental ephemera. But I realize I'm in a minority there :-)