I know, dear one, I know.
The ice flow beyond this soggy floater is a
swim through water once solid where you romped,
your cubs by your side in the mornings, later safely
hidden inside a cold cave while you hunted. It
smelled of your sleep, had special bones in small piles
reminding them of your care, telling them
of the sacred life of the Polar Bear.
Now there are haunting reports that you
sometimes must hunt your own kind, hideous
acts far removed from your natural ways.
Your great beings must suffer this
demonic forced survival skill only
to keep your tender promise: that your
cubs will not starve while waiting your return.
And so your soul beseeches mine to save you, begs I
summon even my last act as a force on your behalf.
(My kind is hot for distinction, thinks little about
extinction.) I know, dear one, I know.
What would my life matter if I did not care,
if I did not remind them again and again
of the sacred life of the Polar Bear?
***
Written for dVerse Poets Pub Poetics, where our host Claudia has us "writing to the artwork of Catrin Welz-Stein." Ms.Welz-Stein, a German artist who lives in Zürich, was kind enough to share with us six of her amazing works from which to choose one as our writing prompt this week. You can enjoy more of her artwork at http://catrinwelzstein.blogspot.de/
***
If my post moves you to learn more about the Polar Bear's struggle for survival on a warming planet, I selected from Charity Navigator some three- and four-star (the highest rating) charities working on their behalf as possible donation sites for your consideration. They are:
Natural Resources Defense Council (4-stars)
The Wilderness Society (3-stars)
Trustees for Alaska (4-stars)
Defenders of Wildlife (3-stars)
Conservation International (4-stars)
Wildlife Conservation Network (4-stars).
World Wildlife Fund (3-stars)
.
