Friday, April 24, 2020

Perspectives




Perspectives

I can see the train on the tracks two blocks away,
but an eagle can see a rabbit two miles away.

I can turn my head to look west down the street to the sunset,
but an owl can turn its head to see 270° (plus it can see in the dark.)

I can roll my eyes at Bill's corny puns,
but mantis shrimp and chameleons can roll each eye independently.

I can see your face,
but not your heart.

I can see through tears,
but not through closed doors.

I can see the stars,
but not the future.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2020


Can it really be the last Friday of National Poetry Month? Christie has the roundup AND the Progressive Poem at Wondering and Wandering.


And then this: Grant Snider is thinking about what we can and cannot see, too!


13 comments:

  1. Enjoyed this, Mary Lee! Especially the bit about the critters who can roll each eye independently :-)

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  2. Love the surprises in each stanza, and then you end with a pensive tone . . . sigh. Nice work!

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  3. I'm now imagining a mantis shrimp rolling each eye independently at Bill's puns. Hee.

    I think I'm going to be grateful we can't see the future...

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  4. It's good to remember our limits! Thanks for this...

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  5. And humans have so long believed they are the top! I imagine your students might love this, Mary Lee.

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  6. What a great poem that holds very interesting flipside perspective, Mary Lee. Your ending hit home. Right now many of us in NY cannot see beyond each day.

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  7. Yea, that future seems scary, glad we have stars to see–they seem to have magic up there. I like the Grant Snider, "Uncertainty" comic too–yes–"Let's keep going," Thanks Mary Lee!

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  8. It is all about perspective I suppose, Mary Lee. Each example in your poem hits the right note, especially: "I can see through tears,but not through closed doors." Who knew about mantis shrimp and chameleon eyeballs?

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  9. Beautiful....it starts out so concrete and whimsical...and then the tears, closed door...future. Wow.

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  10. This has such depth. Perspective is such an interesting thing.

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  11. You have brought toegther so many perspectives. The last two stanzas are tough ones.

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  12. You've crafted another powerful poem, Mary Lee. I agree with Leigh Anne that those last two stanzas are tough.

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  13. What powerful contrasts. Do you think I could learn to roll my eyes independently of each other if I practice? That sounds like a cool trick!

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