19 Comments
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Susan Mulder's avatar

I hope it's ok to respond with a poem? I loved this prompt...

I lift my eyes to the red tips

Of a vibrating Asa ready to burst,

Bow my head to the bundled Hellebore

Guarding the pathway to our wood,

And to the daffodils, who somehow manage to look surprised,

to be here, again,

I pledge my springy loyalty,

While breathlessly waiting,

Hand over heart,

For Fritillaria Imperialis to arrive

As newly leafed and lighted limbs,

Whisper their anthem overhead,

Sending squirrels and chipmunks rushing for cover,

I am called to kneel, in this mossy nation,

Where birdsong hails the hours,

To pledge allegiance,

to morning.

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James Crews's avatar

Gorgeous! Thank you, Susan!

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Susan Mulder's avatar

That means so much!!

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Kellie Brown's avatar

Beautiful. "I lift me eyes ..."

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Susan Mulder's avatar

Thank you💚🌱

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Therese Broderick's avatar

I love the provocative claim of this 14-line poem: a nature poem can be voiced as a Whitmanesque rapture, a sacred prayer of thanksgiving to God, a Romantic projection, a scientific exploration, an ecological mandate … or, yes, it can even be a secular song of homeland loyalty.

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James Crews's avatar

Beautifully said! Maybe it wants to be a sonnet…

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Corie Feiner's avatar

I love your in-depth reading of this poem

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Kellie Brown's avatar

I love your observation, how this poem meets us in so many ways

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Marisol Muñoz-Kiehne's avatar

Loyalty promise,

to gentle (and fierce) creatures.

We’ll do what we can.

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Laura Davis's avatar

Thank you James. What a great prompt and I resonate wholly with what is helping you cope and breathe through the horrors right now. Thank you. I am definitely restacking this.

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Eddie's avatar

"I pledge allegience" (to the flag) is how millions of elementary students start each day in unison, followed by a rote affirmation supervised by their teachers (all with hand above heart). I love your poetic version/vision and def agree that we need to stay aware of political theatrics and their implications yet remain "grounded" to Gaia (---Heaven & Earth) in order to contemplate appropriate responses.

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Elizabeth McConnell's avatar

I pledge allegiance to native

brook trout camouflaged by

sycamore reflection;

cooled by bowing hemlock

shade, even as summers

grow hotter.

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Corie Feiner's avatar

Nice!

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Julie Stander's avatar

I pledge allegiance to the truth beyond this human world, made from fear and desire.

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Corie Feiner's avatar

That is deep.

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Corie Feiner's avatar

I love your sensual and sensuous, life-giving words. The real world is something that we can all pledge ourselves to. Also, I have to make note of the cleverness of the clouds, being the stripes, partially broken and dissipating.

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Todd Christopher Thurman's avatar

"animals are the smile reflection of an elegant and playful God"

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Kellie Brown's avatar

Thank you for sharing the meaningful poem and about the porcupine. I also crave freedom from clock time and find the natural world as the best transporter from strict time.

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