Monday, August 1, 2016

The Mammals (Complete)

The Mammals (Complete)
Nice to have my mammals back after nine years, but I hope my next long poem will be an entirely new one. That makes 448 rhyming verses since I started inadvertently rewriting the Obelisk. Just 64 to go to finish the set.

(For Vision Impaired:)


I: The Marsupial

Oliver Opossum poked his nose out through the leafy pile
Seeing that the distance to his target was not far
Through the neatly tended lawn, he crept along in silent guile
To the waste facility and found the door ajar

This convenient reservoir of items for his family's need
Bordered on the hinterland where he'd made his abode
Shoots and seeds and crumbs of pie crust, on which kin would happily feed
Swelled the shell of cast off plastic where they smartly stowed

In the dark of shift's conclusion, his strong sniffer was his best guide
To the mound of bloated pouches holding what he sought
Chewing through the outer layer to reduce some weight was best tried
If he wanted long to manage with the load he brought

Once he had a bit securely clenched between his diligent jaws
He proceeded dragging his prize back the way he came
There would not be time to snack or even for the slenderest pause
On the way to finalizing his illicit claim

Suddenly the animal was by electric light bulbs struck dumb
And the watchman's accusation calling him a rat
Oliver held both his hands up, each complete with fingers and thumb
As to his identity's proof, certain that was that

By the truncheon hurtling towards him with a murderous force
Accurate enough to make him duck his wily head
Oliver instinctively employed the threatened possum's recourse
Flipping himself over and pretending to be dead

His attacker was about to scoop his body with a spade blade
When the rustle of another burglar caught his ear
Soon as in the open, the opossum his express escape made
Functioning on stimulants injected by his fear

Homeward to his warm dependants, with his catch in tow behind him
He began the journey up a rugged sloping hill
With the eager cry of his impatient mate to rise and find him
Telling him of bellies that demanded he should fill

II: The Rodent

Marvin was a mountain marmot, working on an excavation
High in the exclusive reaches of a rocky pass
With the autumn colours drew the hour of his hibernation
Deep beneath a surface frozen in a sheet of glass

He had had a lucky year, discovering a patch of flowers
Following the flight path of a knowledgable crow
With his yellow underside turned upward, he had passed the hours
Hunger pangs alleviated, nowhere else to go

Now with plenty of provisions and his faith restored by sunlight
Resolutely, he displaced the soil from his spot
Checking edges for a defect to make sure the job was done right
In the digging out of a secure and cozy plot

Halfway down, he struck a solid layer giving stiff resistance
Forcing him to fiercely pull, in order to remove
Stubbornly the boulders came out, one by one, for his persistence
As his bothersome condition slowly would improve

Driven chiefly by a snout that wasn't fashioned for detecting
What distinguished precious metal from a common stone
He let ore accumulate until he had a heap reflecting
Out from the locality of where he worked alone

Once the sun began to lower, having made a deep impression
Tired, he retired to his cottage made of sticks
And before too long, he had to lethargy made his concession
Lost within the drama of imaginary flicks

Through the cracks in Marvin's flimsy barricade, the dawn broke slowly
Finally compelling him to open up his eyes
Though a bit stiff from his labours, on his goal he focussed wholly
Getting up and running through his morning exercise

He retraced his footsteps as they led directly to the work site
But there was an ending to the path that he had worn
Climbing to the limit of the once proud mountain's less than full height
With the vast remainder having been completely shorn

III: The Carnivore



At the close of mating season, some keep cool their disposition
None more so than creatures in the tough and frigid zones
For the canny Alex Fox, companionship was still his mission
Someone to play tug with him and help him warm his bones

Alex had a pretty sheen that caught the eye of Margarita
As he circled round her with primordial intent
From afar she looked all right, though quite impossible to read her
Outside the allure of her intoxicating scent

He pretended he had come to sniff along a nearby cluster
Nodding unaffectedly as he paraded by
His detachment took from him the strongest will that he could muster
Of his passion's resolution, tormentingly shy

Margarita needed proof to feel more sure about his fitness
Though his presentation at the moment ranked the best
Feats of daring and of skill it was her privilege to witness
By submitting Alex to a formidable test

They went to a murky hole where she had dropped a tasty morsel
Whose imposing mouth was too constricting for her grasp
Wishing to appear to her as of the two the more resourceful
He poked in his forepaw and attempted it to clasp

His paw came out mushy from his contact with a mother's payload
Good enough for both of them to share a sweeping lick
To another grab for glory, obvious and clear the way showed
And he'd gladly practice such a profitable trick

Snow White Stork descended on them, mother's fury coming straight out
Screeching like a banshee with her feathers all erect
But with mediocre effort, the attack fell to a clean rout
Alex after sustenance, not merely to protect

After a delicious supper, they went off into the sunset
Headed for a pair-bond of at least a fleeting bliss
Solace from the wild would the roaming two be happy to get
Previous abandonment a thing they would not miss

IV: The Bat

Sleekly built, Nathaniel Bat transcended at the acrobatic
Steering through the twists and turns of his expansive cave
With his clever sound detection, forward flight was automatic
And advantage in the dark against intruders gave

Through the day he hung with a battalion of committed holdouts
In firm opposition to conventional routine
To the common schedule there were no disagreements nor doubts
As they shared the sleepy hours of the great unseen

Buzzing swarms of flying insects hiding under nighttime's cover
They would face and focus on until the sky was clear
Once together airborne, they would travel to the swamp and hover
Poised to dive on passers-by as soon as they flew near

Evening fell and sent them marching to their places on the runway
Then in line behind the leader, to the sky they took
Navigating with a pulse to keep them all directed one way
And receive of airspace an illuminating look

To their vision, moon beams on the trail before them were sufficient
Flight conditions seemed to be acceptably sedate
At detecting their objective they were able and efficient
As a gang of fireflies were doomed to learn too late

In a swoop, the glowing specks would vanish from the dusky skyline
Bats on the offensive in a tactical campaign
Having caught a soft formation on which they could easily dine
And at least their store of fuel evenly sustain

Storm clouds flared up without warning, drifting on a deadly crash course
In the thrill of triumph had Nathaniel failed to see
Deafened by reverberations, his communications grew hoarse
As he veered away from his companions helplessly

In the branches he retreated, wary of the crocodile
Presently the din subsided, letting him alight
Though to get himself back on the proper track would take a while
He would spiral home before the closing of the night

V: The Whale



Ultra was enlightened in the discipline of locomotion
Streamlined for the smoothest path through channels undersea
Lengthening her string of arching breaches out across the ocean
Worthier performances by swimmers few could be

In the sheer Antarctic regions, fish and game were in abundance
Shielded from exploiters by a climate harsh and cold
To the model continent she paddled onward in accordance
With instructions from a far-off voice that she'd been told

It was of her grandfather beseeching her to join a meeting
With the leading citizens of the assembly
In their condemnation of the upright the debate was heating
Since the trawlers started decimating openly

They were thick and poorly cultured, terminally unreceptive
Militant barbarians with ruin as their aim
Up against their heavy hulls, offensives would be ineffective
And in the retreat to a secluded shore no shame

He received her warmly to his quaint marine life sanctuary
Holding out both fins for a congenial embrace
Cumbersome obstructions of construction would be temporary
Transportation systems from a wilderness to trace

Many had assembled in the shallow inlet's calm confinement
To hear her progenitor articulate his plea
All unfolded with an eye to elegance and pure refinement
Culminating in a seal hunt of ferocity

Mercilessly they assaulted, tearing pups away from mothers
Flinging prey adroitly into fellow hunter's gob
They slew half a herd at once and chased for sport the frightened others
Rendering of massacre a comprehensive job

Appetite appeased, there was the need to rinse the stain of slaughter
Off of Ultra's gum line and about her rosy cheek
In the cleansing currents of the offshore's vast and open water
Her cosmetic remedy she set about to seek

VI: The Bovine

Gorging on a luscious pasture, Gladys tended to her function
Which she understood was to excessively consume
For her selfish occupation she had not the least compunction
Thinking natural the life of leisure to assume

As the seasons passed between productive chomps and peaceful slumbers
Never did the thought of a rebellion cross her mind
Even though her herd surpassed her captor by uncounted numbers
To sustain their dull routine her kind were more inclined

Like a conscientious heifer, she'd allowed her use for breeding
Finding it more civilized to keep it in a pen
But no offspring from the most concerted try had been proceeding
Solely pledged to her ingesting had she been since then

Hewing sprawling swaths of field to show her durable devotion
As a grazer her achievement stood out from afar
When it caught the notice of the higher-ups for her promotion
They arranged her travel by a crowded cattle car

From a gaping slot she could enjoy the view of weeks of wander
Launched in a procession past her stationary stall
Grandiose depictions of her future she was free to ponder
From her self-made pedestal, permitted hard to fall

At the railway's destination was a futuristic compound
Boasting long hydraulic belts to further labours spare
Though to turn from her direction was a choice distinctly unsound
Standing on a stretch of ribbon, straddling thin air

Through an open aperture, upon a ghastly sight she stumbled
Hanging from remorseless hooks on harrowing display
Suddenly her fuzzy dream of an enchanted grassland crumbled
Followed by an overwhelming shudder of dismay

But her barren womb was irresistible to the researcher
Whose good method to correct would fruitfully bestow
She soon had a busy litter of her very own to nurture
Trepidation smothered by a fond maternal glow

VII: The Equine



Shooting Star received the spotlight as an up and coming racehorse
Swimming in the ceremonies, flashing trophies new
From among the thoroughbreds the most outstanding on the racecourse
Crowds of loyal followers around his triumphs grew

To the summit of performance, gliding strides accelerated
Through the warnings of exhaustion ringing in his head
His expenditure was less a number to be calculated
Than the passion that was present in his heart instead

His best friend, Bernice, amid his swirling stardom, was an anchor
Keeping him in comfort and untangling his hair
With athletic victories it seemed she wanted him to thank her
Of her expectations he acutely was aware

The young daughter of his owner, she'd been with him from the outset
On their pure relationship he faithfully relied
Application of his races' outcomes as a confident bet
Had to plush enhancements of their living been applied

On the way to occupy the season's hinging start position
He could see Bernice upon another horse's back
And the loss of trust on which had rested his supreme volition
From his normal soaring aims, had knocked him clear off-track

Once the gates were flung ajar, he flitted out with feigned commitment
Of the thumping cluster, keeping passively behind
Sinking to the bottom of his paralyzing disappointment
Victory the last thing on his deeply troubled mind

When he saw Bernice dismount to greet him at the course conclusion
With the rival having merely done an honest deed
Purpose was restored to bring his energy a huge infusion
Carrying him off in an amazing burst of speed

From the outside lane he streaked ahead to turn the closing corner
Finishing decisively in front of any peer
By Bernice's guidance he ascended to the place of honour
Where he faced a multitude and listened to them cheer

VIII: The Primate



Holding out in lands not yet by human hands contaminated
Dexter had been named by she who'd suckled his first meal
Shortened from Dexterity, for having early demonstrated
An impressive aptitude to pull off and to peel

Still allowed to ponder as a child chimp of budding passion
He'd indulged his philosophic nature to a glut
Stacking his banana bunches in a more efficient fashion
And engaging hand held stones to smash a coconut

He was brought up decently by those who paid the rites observance
But for such formalities the chimp could not sit still
To their orderly affairs he was inclined to bring disturbance
Acting out spontaneously from his own free will

Nonetheless, his parents from their aspirations never faltered
Sure he would eventually learn behaviour's rule
His loud personality was bound to be correctly altered
As his siblings walked him to his first day at the school

Soon as on the climbing structure, innocently accidental
He took recreation from his classmates out of turn
Penalty's suppression to a level low and fundamental
Was the blunt instruction in humility he'd learn

Rated for expression making, he fell to another blunder
Shamelessly refusing to his neighbour imitate
There was no mistaking whose control his happiness was under
For his nibbles, ordered to behind the females wait

By the day's demanding end he would no longer be outspoken
Shrunken to a shadow of his past identity
In his room at home the peace would subsequently stay unbroken
Family delighted by his wan serenity

Great success from bare survival might be brazenly divided
Where the rule of Mother Nature to the gates may yield
For advantage's pursuit to bring an outcome undecided
Not the compensation owed the mammals in the field
  
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© 2007, 2016. Verses and Images by David Skerkowski. All rights reserved.

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