Doing Good For Others

—Poetry by Linda Klein, Los Angeles, CA

—Public Domain Photos

POSSESSIONS
(a sonnet)

I packed a box with dad's books to give away,
also his smoking pipes and humidor.
His fine silk ties in a corner I laid,
and folded shirts that he had never worn,
a pen and pencil set that bore his name,
engraved with letters in fourteen-karat gold,
chessboard and pieces, how he loved the game,
and leather slippers, not so very old.

Along with these, I packed my memories
in every single layer of the carton.
with sincere hopes dad's precious things might please
some young fellow whose life was only starting.

To think the sum of a life can finally be
mere possessions is something that bothers me.

A NYMPH IN THE BREAKWATER

Crouch down by the side
of the warped, wooden jetty.
Curve your young body
into a fibrous niche.
You can just about fit,
all but your feet.
They slide on the slimy sand
washing away from the breakwater with each wave.

This structure will not betray you.
When the boy runs by,
he will not notice those small toes
as he runs in the hot dry sand,
searching and calling out to you,
without knowing you are so near,
near enough so that
you dare not giggle as you see him go by.

A YOUNG TURTLE

Slowly,
the turtle
opened her eyes,
crease by crease.
She poked her head out
from under her shell.
At first,
everything was blurry.
Then she noticed the light.
She moved hesitantly,
on her small clawed feet.
She wished she could
take longer strides,
stretch those tiny legs,
but try as she might,
they would only go so far.
Her shell was heavy.
If only she could
slough it off.
Miserable,
she began to quiver
with frustration
until she toppled over,
her hard, tile-patterned shell
on the ground,
her head and feet
moved frantically.
Her struggle seemed endless.
An older, larger turtle
ambled by.
Seeing her distress,
he calmly and carefully
flipped her upright
with his own small front feet.
She noticed his confidence
and how he was able to do good
despite his limitations.
She would learn to be like that.

                                       
AN ELEPHANT ADVOCACY

Elias appeared before a panel of five human judges
appointed to decide whether or not to take action.
As he entered the chamber, they endeavored to suppress elbowing nudges.
There were four men and one woman, each from various factions.

The chairman motioned Elias forward.  Huge and ungainly his body seemed,
and yet he had a gentle kind of elegance.
The proud pachyderm, it had been deemed,
would represent all of nature's elephants.

Elias moved closer, humbly bowed his enormous head
and twirled his agile trunk,
eliciting a chorus of gasps, which finally led
the chairman to put down his gavel with a clunk.

The elephant began, "Sirs and Madam, I speak on behalf of all elephants,
both African and Asian alike.
I plead for your consideration of our relevance
in the ongoing cycle of mutual life.

"Notwithstanding the danger from fierce carnivores,
we face a greater threat
from the avarice of ivory poachers, more
murderous than any animal yet.

"We need land on which our herds may roam safe and free,
to live and breed in harmony
with both man and beast,
while using our tusks and heft for self defense and clearing dead trees.

"We consume shrubs and plants, thus preventing fires.
The steps of our heavy feet till the soil topping,
creating space in the muddy mire
for new seeds carried and deposited with our droppings."

The judges listened to Elias with care
as the elephant explained, and were aghast
at how this simple creature could lay facts bare,
then remembered his descent from a mighty mammoth and mastodon past.

Elias waited while they conferred together.
He felt their compassion and understanding,
and was confident it would no longer be a question of whether.
For survival of the elephant is, as their own, immediate and demanding.

Yes, they would set aside some land where elephants could live and breed.
For poachers, there must be stricter prohibitions and punishment.
All five of them would work for what they now agreed
is an absolutely necessary accomplishment.

They saw how all existence intertwines,
the give and take of every living thing.
To lose another species could undermine
whatever master scheme our world is following.


(prev. pub. in Oasis Journal 2015)

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Today’s LittleNip:

The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

—Mahatma Gandhi
                                                             
______________________

—Medusa, thanking Linda Klein for today’s fine poetry!

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