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Odin odin@aflx.com

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· Patience Waning

· Ladle Lines (A prosetry memory)

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· A Jungle-rain Pastorale

· Sediment Within the Soul

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Predator or Prey?

by Odin odin@aflx.com — Read all 3,869 poems by Odin odin@aflx.com

Analogies concerning the intelligence of animals vs. homo sapiens surround us, yet we strut about as the superior species. Really?

Friday, June 21, 2024


Poem Artwork

  Predator or Prey


Think of the zoo feeder…

The one with all the keys.
Such a person often turns out to be the only human friend
Of the predators.

Think of the Safari traveler…

One is either a trophy seeking hunter
Who will throw a piece of meat to a hungry animal
Realizing he or she is the only one to get close for a kill,
Or be the respecter of life,
Understanding the difference.
Between being a predator
Or being a compassionate peacemaker,
One who is a species-conscious respecter of life.

Do adventurers in Africa think of themselves as predator
Or prey?

Does the animal, sensing she might be shot, see herself as a predator
Or prey?

Why, as the reasoning species, do we choose to kill for sport,
While the animal may have you for dinner due to the sheer need to survive?

How strange,
As hunters they will board their private jet and fly home to mount their trophy,
And the surviving animals will continue their often-disappointing trek for food and water survival.

Once again…

Who is the predator?
Who is the prey?
What kind of society have we evolved into?

 



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Reviewed on June 29, 2024
Well, Odin! In my opinion, if tigers and lions stay out of my rooms, I'll stay out of their jungles. Fair, don't you think?

Love ya!

Jane

Reviewed by Ronald Hull
Reviewed on June 22, 2024
Hemingway, who wrote from his experiences that most humans didn't dare to venture, was a great sport hunter of predators and flaunted it. I was a hunter until I was 20 and could no longer safely hold a gun. But I ate almost everything that I shot. Providing a welcome meal to my mother who grew up on a homestead where hunting provided a great proportion of their food, especially during the Great Depression.

The indigenous people, particularly of the far north, have hunted and fished as their primary source of food for thousands of years. When they kill, they do it with great reverence. And they are keenly aware of the need for the species that they depend upon to continue to thrive. Industries, seeking wealth from resources, have killed more predators than nearly everything else, with no regard for them and their value to the ecosystems they live in. By what they kill and eat makes the whole ecosystem stronger and healthier. When we kill a top predator just for trophy or even fake medicine, we erode the ability of the ecosystem to remain healthy.

I also share Richard's thoughts about your presentation.

Ron

Reviewed by John Herlihy
Reviewed on June 22, 2024
You have raised such an interesting question here regarding predator and prey, since it contains many layers and nuances that can be applied to life. You question raised at the end of the poem has as many answers as those who try to answer it.

Reviewed by Diana Legun
Reviewed on June 21, 2024
I just now posted a ‘nature’ piece before reading yours here. Maybe there is a planetary ‘voice’ we are subliminally hearing and Lordy I hope so! The image you selected appears to answer your last three questions: Humans = fangless, clawless, furless, fearful and totally prey-like if not unevening the odds with guns. Even the last question, of the three final questions, . . . we DEvolved into literally hunting down our own species. Yep, I’d say the animals have it all over us. In our house we catch and release spiders, so there’s that. Good subject to warrant more writings. ~~ djl


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