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chrysopelia paradisi

Missing image

Graphic: "Liquid Gold" by Gerry Pacher ~ from Blue Rew.  

. 

how a goldmine of fluid tumbles

over rocks  to the main 

. 

what Hell is this?    for Agamemnon falls

and this bubbling aurulent flow snakes

where sanguinous woods lie far below

 .

and above  to mock him 

an azurite   copper sky 

. 

but paradise enough where serpents slide

in sky tiers of rainforests

birth their golden young   

. 

taking off where rainbows end
a living color-fall
a translucence of chartreuse
whips through cylinders of air

colonnaded darkly among
tree trunks
kited ribs spread

they come down
        down
             down

why this airborne invasion

no answer but forest
reasons        none
but fecund seasons
corkscrew them through
dazzles of light  dart them
to pools of inverted stars

they skim meniscus of water
wriggle into meaning
from knit of jewelry
with unblinking eye-stones

writhe and lash

swallow little moths
gulp shed tails
of frightened lizards

for this is their lustrous paradise
their universe to lord

though Agamemnon is dead   

Author notes

My fascination for the birth of this species of tropical tree snakes is obvious. Reptiles, as creatures of beauty, are often overlooked. The latin name means 'golden snake of paradise'. The young snakes simply float down from the canopy. Snakes and Satan are mythically related but I have reversed the myth to 'Paradise'. These tree snakes really exist.

A contest entry

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Comments

1 - 5 of 5

  • Polaja Greeters member
    September 10, 2008
    Edit | Reply
    This is an outstandingly beautiful poem I really like the Agamemnon reference, it brings an air of myth and mystery to the poem - the flow was very well crafted and the formatting was effective in helping that along I wish you the best of luck in the contest!

    Keep writing

    Polly


  • ourgirlFriday
    September 9, 2008

    Edit | Reply

    Love the color contrast

    Though the poem brings me back to the recent debate, Barbados or somewhere in the Carribean - the local 'string' snake was scientifically classified as the Caroline snake, as the cataloger (aka 1st scientific 'disciover') named it after his wife, and the locals raised h*** about it.


  • MargaretG
    September 9, 2008

    Edit | Reply

    life and colour

    You offer a spectrum and a peek into natural history - the notes are helpful in understanding the full intent of the verse. There is still much there to see, "a living color-fall" must be spectacular to witness.


  • Blue Rew silver member
    September 9, 2008

    Edit | Reply
    I absolutely adore snakes and all the symbolism
    tied to them! Beautiful cascade of verse that
    twists its direction after the second couplet.

    The title is a poem onto itself, I love language
    when used in this manner...provocative.

    Wonderful revisions as I read this yet again
    (sanguineous though is missing an e).

    Every bit of this was enjoyed and I felt the
    subject matter tied to Agamemnon's fate was
    just a fantastic example of intelligent writing.

    Snakes represent eternity, wisdom.
    And the way they are presented here, you find
    their concept of paradise as higher wisdom
    written between the lines. Blue



    • Lyndon gold member
      September 9, 2008
      Edit | Reply

      Actually this has recently been mounted

      and I was proofreading and editing. However, you have astutely done this for me. I think I have finished now and hope that you like what you see.

1 - 5 of 5