Eagle in an old snag
Sitting by his nest
Across this branch
Of the creek
That's really a small river;
Fresh bear shit on the forest floor –
The ground is frozen hard
And walking across the streams
And little ravines
On fallen over logs:
Treacherous in my wellies –
One giant old spruce tree
Suffering from Annosus root rot
Conks oozing from its butt
On one side
And one can see where the infection
Has got in through a root
Heterobasidion annosum …
It's a killer of trees,
A parasite that gets in
Through a damaged root
And works its way
Up the trunk
Until
It kills the tree:
The fungus feeds on the tree's carcass;
Red Cedar next door
As wide as a house
Gnarly branches
Thickened with hanging moss
The whole forest
A vast haunted house
Home to a big old Grizzly
That should have gone to bed for the winter by now;
But he's feeding
On the spent salmon
Lying dead in the river
Getting in a few last minute calories
To see him through
The long Winter;
I'm following the bear unknowingly
Trying to burn off
A few calories
When I see that pile
Too fresh and unfrozen
To have been deposited yesterday;
The bear is moving away from me
Avoiding this wayward human
Wandering in his territory
So I turn back –
It's a courtesy really:
Neither of us
Wants an encounter.
Andrew Barham
Too Late - Andrew Barham
An untimely deadline missed
Beguiles an unlikely tryst
With a warm wind blowing
Through all seeing but not knowing
How blue is blue can be –
How blue is the sea?
And the sky falling down
For our home is warming now
More rapidly than we thought it would
More rapidly than they said it should
Way back in 1990
When Scientists could not agree
Though by 1993
They did consensus see;
There are tipping points three
We hoped we might not see
In our lifetime though
Of these our children might know
Them more intimately:
Glaciers melting majestically
Mountains of ice plunging into the sea
Happening unexpectedly
The others are happening too:
As these things often do
Stricken forests burning bright
Lighting up the darkest night
It's not exactly a pretty sight,
The greenwood consumed in infernal light;
We see in slow motion
Glaciers falling into the ocean
As Greenland's ice caps melt -
And new land like a green felt
Emerges to sore amaze our eyes
With unimpeachable data that defies
The skeptic's and the denier's lies
This too rapid melting of the ice.
As the polar ice recedes
And our beleaguered planet bleeds,
Nations and oil companies compete
To see which one can beat
The others to get there first
And satisfy their insatiable thirst
It's not just ice that's disappearing
That third tipping point Scientists were fearing
Was the melting of the permafrost
Happening rapidly at the cost
Of northern communities:
As the permanently hard soil recedes
And the frozen ground begins to thaw
Whole towns slump and sink into the maw
Of the boggy earth below
(Though now the trees there grow);
The consequence comes and goes
As the peat begins to decompose
Releasing more carbon into the air
(Of this, the Scientists were scared.)
There is a fourth tipping point
That can really shake up this joint
The most frightening one by far
(We forget the biosphere is like a jar
With everything sealed within
Which is why we Scientists make such a din
About the dangers we all are in)
While the politicians spin
Saying the potential harm
Is just Scientists spreading alarm
For some sort of personal gain
Though I notice they refrain
From saying what these benefits be
From this imagined conspiracy
Only very recently
Within a month or three
Russian Scientists did observe
Something new to throw a curve
Into our calculations
That will really rock all nations
The fourth tipping point
With which to anoint
Our most dire prophecies
Far worse than rising seas
A runaway greenhouse effect
We will soon begin to detect
For methane bubbling from the ocean floor
Shall cause the planet to warm even more …
Andrew Barham
Beguiles an unlikely tryst
With a warm wind blowing
Through all seeing but not knowing
How blue is blue can be –
How blue is the sea?
And the sky falling down
For our home is warming now
More rapidly than we thought it would
More rapidly than they said it should
Way back in 1990
When Scientists could not agree
Though by 1993
They did consensus see;
There are tipping points three
We hoped we might not see
In our lifetime though
Of these our children might know
Them more intimately:
Glaciers melting majestically
Mountains of ice plunging into the sea
Happening unexpectedly
The others are happening too:
As these things often do
Stricken forests burning bright
Lighting up the darkest night
It's not exactly a pretty sight,
The greenwood consumed in infernal light;
We see in slow motion
Glaciers falling into the ocean
As Greenland's ice caps melt -
And new land like a green felt
Emerges to sore amaze our eyes
With unimpeachable data that defies
The skeptic's and the denier's lies
This too rapid melting of the ice.
As the polar ice recedes
And our beleaguered planet bleeds,
Nations and oil companies compete
To see which one can beat
The others to get there first
And satisfy their insatiable thirst
It's not just ice that's disappearing
That third tipping point Scientists were fearing
Was the melting of the permafrost
Happening rapidly at the cost
Of northern communities:
As the permanently hard soil recedes
And the frozen ground begins to thaw
Whole towns slump and sink into the maw
Of the boggy earth below
(Though now the trees there grow);
The consequence comes and goes
As the peat begins to decompose
Releasing more carbon into the air
(Of this, the Scientists were scared.)
There is a fourth tipping point
That can really shake up this joint
The most frightening one by far
(We forget the biosphere is like a jar
With everything sealed within
Which is why we Scientists make such a din
About the dangers we all are in)
While the politicians spin
Saying the potential harm
Is just Scientists spreading alarm
For some sort of personal gain
Though I notice they refrain
From saying what these benefits be
From this imagined conspiracy
Only very recently
Within a month or three
Russian Scientists did observe
Something new to throw a curve
Into our calculations
That will really rock all nations
The fourth tipping point
With which to anoint
Our most dire prophecies
Far worse than rising seas
A runaway greenhouse effect
We will soon begin to detect
For methane bubbling from the ocean floor
Shall cause the planet to warm even more …
Andrew Barham
60 Glorious Years - Jenny Hamon
What a wonderful weekend of celebration
That brought together the whole of our nation
We waved our flags and partied in the street
And had fun with people we would never usually meet.
United together in Celebration
We shared your joy and jubilation
Your people from Commonwealth countries joined in
To honour your service so selflessly given.
To The Queen and Prince Philip we wish to you
Health and happiness your whole life through
So let’s raise a glass and give three cheers
To Her Majesty and 60 glorious years.
Jenny Hamon
That brought together the whole of our nation
We waved our flags and partied in the street
And had fun with people we would never usually meet.
United together in Celebration
We shared your joy and jubilation
Your people from Commonwealth countries joined in
To honour your service so selflessly given.
To The Queen and Prince Philip we wish to you
Health and happiness your whole life through
So let’s raise a glass and give three cheers
To Her Majesty and 60 glorious years.
Jenny Hamon
Hope - Jenny Hamon
The swallows are back for the summer
They are frequenting the barn and their nests.
I marvel at their energy
Never ceasing, never seeming to rest.
That’s a sign summer is almost here
Although the weather can’t make up its mind
The sparrows and blue tits are nesting
As are the blackbirds and wrens, I find.
The garden is looking fresh and young
As the shoots push their way to the light
I always love this time of the year,
Before the weeds have appeared for a fight!
The wild flowers that adorn the lanes
Are a picture to behold
They give food and hope to the insects
And so natures year begins to unfold
We have hope for the harvest to come
And look forward to seeing things bloom
Just like we have hope for peace in the world
And pray that it comes very soon.
Jenny Hamon
They are frequenting the barn and their nests.
I marvel at their energy
Never ceasing, never seeming to rest.
That’s a sign summer is almost here
Although the weather can’t make up its mind
The sparrows and blue tits are nesting
As are the blackbirds and wrens, I find.
The garden is looking fresh and young
As the shoots push their way to the light
I always love this time of the year,
Before the weeds have appeared for a fight!
The wild flowers that adorn the lanes
Are a picture to behold
They give food and hope to the insects
And so natures year begins to unfold
We have hope for the harvest to come
And look forward to seeing things bloom
Just like we have hope for peace in the world
And pray that it comes very soon.
Jenny Hamon
Gumboots - Kathy Figueroa
When I was in town
I had a fashion attack
And bought shiny
New gumboots
In sleek stylish black
Now, through the mud
I can fearlessly stomp
And I don't get my feet wet
When I cross the swamp
I lived in the city
A long time ago
And had to dress up there
Mainly for show
I worked nine to five
White collar hours
In those great big
Toronto office towers
Now, I live in the country
And life is just grand
When I spend my days
Outside on the land
I'm happy as a lark
As I work in the dirt
In my gumboots, jeans
And an old flannel shirt
You won't find my wardrobe
In a fashion magazine
Because I dress for comfort
Not to be seen
So, bring on the flannel
Bring on the plaid
Bring on the gumboots
The best footwear I've had
I don't look high fashion
But don't give two hoots
Because I always feel good
When I wear gumboots
Kathy Figueroa
I had a fashion attack
And bought shiny
New gumboots
In sleek stylish black
Now, through the mud
I can fearlessly stomp
And I don't get my feet wet
When I cross the swamp
I lived in the city
A long time ago
And had to dress up there
Mainly for show
I worked nine to five
White collar hours
In those great big
Toronto office towers
Now, I live in the country
And life is just grand
When I spend my days
Outside on the land
I'm happy as a lark
As I work in the dirt
In my gumboots, jeans
And an old flannel shirt
You won't find my wardrobe
In a fashion magazine
Because I dress for comfort
Not to be seen
So, bring on the flannel
Bring on the plaid
Bring on the gumboots
The best footwear I've had
I don't look high fashion
But don't give two hoots
Because I always feel good
When I wear gumboots
Kathy Figueroa
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