Thursday, November 08, 2007

Thursday Poem - Coyotes

Is this world truly fallen? They say no.
For there’s the new moon, there’s the Milky Way,
There’s the rattler with a wren’s egg in its mouth,
And there’s the panting rabbit they will eat.
They sing their wild hymn on the dark slope,
Reading the stars like notes of hilarious music.
Is this a fallen world? How could it be?

And yet we’re crying over the stars again,
And over the uncertainty of death,
Which we suspect will divide us all forever.
I’m tired of those who broadcast their certainties,
Constantly on their cell phones to their redeemer.
Is this a fallen world? For them it is.
But there’s that starlit burst of animal laughter.

The day has sent its fires scattering.
The night has risen from its burning bed.
Our tears are proof that love is meant for life
And for the living. And this chorus of praise,
Which the pet dogs of the neighborhood are answering
Nostalgically, invites our answer, too.
Is this a fallen world? How could it be?

Mark Jarman

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have been visiting your website for some time now. I must thank you for the beauty of it. This poem brought tears to my eyes. But I love your photographs most of all, they bring a part of your amazing serene world to mine, here in Arizona. So lovely. Thank you.
Eileen

Marcie said...

With all the tragedy that has been going on in my quiet community, this is just the perfect poem for me to read this morning. Thank you for posting it.