With shoulders hunched and jaws of steel,
anticipating our next meal,
we take our stance on center stage,
our eyes aglow with blood-red rage
as ribs protrude from lack of prey,
where famines sore harass each day,
and hunger cuts like sharpened blades
as we assemble in brigades.
Our priestess holds the evening mass
whose ephod glows as burnished brass
while we, in black, soon lip-sync prayers
to mimic grace with holy airs.
The corpses stretched upon Fate's bed,
with luster shed and laughter dead,
are stripped of all their dignity
by savagery's indignity.
With talons manicured to hunt,
our temperament aloof and blunt,
men view us as a gang of crooks
with forkéd beaks and devil hooks.
~~~~~~~~
Yet, instincts are our gifts of worth
instilled in us by Mother Earth
as vulture wings are land's own hearse
that carries off its rotting curse.
As undertakers of our land
upon the mountains, sea, and sand,
we swallow death so souls may live
for this is freedom that we give
and in the crucifix of scope,
we cleanse the earth as fuller's soap
and burn away the dross with fire
to beautify all land's desire.
We free the spirits once decayed
where they can pass on unafraid
while those incarnate souls reborn
shall nevermore taste death or mourn.
Thus, sanctioned by the hand of God,
we ministers of sky and sod
will ever cite our Vulture's Prayer,
an oath whereby to breathe and swear.
Author notes
The helpful vulture's eating habits are both cleansing and beneficial. It eats ONLY dead bodies. If corpses were not disposed of, they would stink and spread disease and death. The Egyptians associated the vulture with Isis and believed the dead had to recite the Vulture's Prayer to gain new life. Vultures became symbolic of many cycles of birth and death especially the cycle of reincarnation popular in some religions. The dead were believed to be freed from their decaying bodies to enter the next world or to be reborn into this one. In some mythologies, the vulture is associated with the sun and fire.
A special thank-you to maa for making this border possible.
A contest entry
- Nature contest :) by Entwining Beauty.
625 points, ended September 15, 2007, 11 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 17 of 17
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wow yes amazingly done good luck
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Thank you for the HM. Much appreciated, ♥ Belle
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Well I might do the same
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Thank you, Mairi. We were to write about an animal and its freedom factor. I would have never dreamed in a million years I would select the vulture--totally out of my element. ha! So nice meeting you and I am adding you to my favs. -B
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I am coming to these poems in reverse order, but I do not really care. I don't think I would have gone for this as a stand-alone poem, but as a response to the subject of the contest, it is nothing short of first-rate.
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Excellent
Sister Belle, Is there any poetic challenge too difficult for your superb and endless skills? Who would have thought that the lowly vulture could be so highly praised for its benefitual service to mankind and our delicate eco-system? YOU RULE DEAR SISTER! Write on! Your humble favorite brother, Dennis
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Wow. I liked this.. Good luck in the contest!
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A Poesque tribute to the carnivore of deadly deed.
Very nicely done! No luck is required, for talent and skill will win the GOLD.
Blessings,
Liquid -
dearest annabelle,
you have written another excellent poem, and the choice of a vulture has not only surprised me, but also made me smile. it reminded me of the people in tibet who cut the bodies of their dead in pieces and feed them to the vultures ... this is a great teaching about disidentification from our bodies as well as the impermanence of phenomenal life.
thank you for the great reminder ...
good luck,
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This was a beautiful write.One of the better poems I've read in the contest.You grasped the topic well and went free with your own ideas.Well done, Thanks for entering and best of luck
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Beautiful piece ma belle with wonderful imagry and flow. The rhythm and rhyme are outstanding. This is simply a magnificant work! Hugs, Bunny
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Thank you, Suseann. Yes, most vultures do prefer their meat as fresh as possible but when writing this, I read about one species that preferred the carcass a little aged and I had this breed in mine (I can't remember which one, though). My best
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Only thing I find bad about them,is they don't wait for the dead to be lifeless. Dining before life has ebbed out completly.I know just as with magets they serve a purpose. But even they do not wait before forming to eat flesh.This is a good tightly metered well versed piece.~~Suseann
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This is a wonderful poem, I love reading through the perception of the vulture. I wish you all the best dear friend
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I think this is my favorite of yours that I have EVER read. I love the idea of it and it reminds me of the first piece I entered ( I entered a new one ) where I tried to bring the snake into a better light.
I just love the idea here and you've done it so well. Best of luck to you.
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Excellence personified! your poetic mastery flows through the words as the waters of the very Nile! You have portrayed the mystic, and majesty of an animal so many view with distaste. You have painted it with regal strokes. An excellent expression my darling friend!
Love,
DK -
Bravo!
Fine, free flowing, some superb turns of phrase, well done! Bravo!
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