Who You Were

Trying to express the feelings I had after recent books read.

Who You Were:

 

Adena and Hopewell

unknown names

or language spoken

or ancestry claims-           

 

aged earth walkers

with sun lit face

rain bathed body

found life's grace

 

as nature's own

knew love and pain

virtue and guilt

pride and shame.

 

Honored dead

with memorial place

marked out valor

as holy space-

 

rendered creation

in simplistic forms

amazing mystery

of artistic norms-

 

shunned to destroy            

earth home as seen

this reason alone

greater than we.

Author's Note

after reading 1491 and The Mound Builders

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

I am not familiar with your reading material Carl but from your lines I felt this poem was about our ancestors who certainly were far more conscious about their environment than we are. They did not leave a legacy of destruction in their wake. I enjoyed the format and short stanzas. Have a good day.

Chris

[carl]

thank you for the read and review, much appreciated. The books mentioned are about the population of the Americas prior to Columbus and the subsequent colonization by Old World peoples. I found both books fascinating. -carl

[Andra Dare]

Although this work is inspired by a literary work, it's a testament to existential self-awareness, self-acceptance, and self-judgement. There's an ineffable beauty and pathos in the everyday of normal life, and simple things. Very engaging read.

[carl]

thanks for the read and review greatly appreciated -quite a trio awareness acceptance and judgement. I would say great tools but great care needed in use for honing the self and/or others - carl

[FGFRANKLIN]

I'm not extremely well versed in Pre-Columbian Native American culture but I believe the Adena were centered around Ohio and West Virginia, north and west of my state. I think the Ho-Chunk people were in Nebraska about the same time. I read a pictorial history on Native America tribes and customs published in the thirties that touched briefly on some of the earlier Pre-Columbian tribes. An interesting piece. I enjoyed the read.

[carl]

Yes you are correct about the Adena and the Mound Builders were in that same area. The 1491 book is an amazing piece of work - fascinating - I have just started the section on Peru and it is equally interesting. Thanks for the read and review much appreciated. The projected time period and the immensity in size of these ancient civilizations is mind boggling to me.

[FGFRANKLIN]

I may have to look that up to read. It sounds interesting. I love historical books and archaeology and anthropology. I used to read a lot of Loren Eiseley's work. He was a true poet at heart and wrote some fine poetry too.

[carl]

I will look into Loren Eiseley , thanks

[FGFRANKLIN]

Oh, yes! Please do. You will not be disappointed I promise. He was a brilliant man. And he's a real delight to read.

[W. Barrett Munn]

Very nice use of rhyme Carl.

Winston

[carl]

thank you the read and review, sir, always a pleasure.

[light and ashes]

Sounds like a book on morality. Well written. I enjoyed.

[carl]

thanks for the read and review. The morality evaluation is mine to a great extent chosen because the reading presented me with a people that lived in a certain harmony with their environment, which I feel we lack. They altered the landscape to meet their needs but even with their vast numbers did not destroy that upon which they relied. I think we have lost that perspective. Our pursuit of individual personal profit irrespective of consequence to anything or anyone else is to put it mildly a slippery slope.
I'm sure I am naive in my understanding of their world, lifestyle, abuses, and vices. -carl

[light and ashes]

We have. I agree.

We are driven by Corporate gain, monetary gain, and overall selfishness.
I feel like America is the worst.
Our industrial boom has gone so so wrong..
as things so often do with the human race.

[light and ashes]

We have. I agree.

We are driven by Corporate gain, monetary gain, and overall selfishness.
I feel like America is the worst about this.
Our industrial boom has gone so so wrong..
as things often do with the human race.

[willweb]

The poem was very cool, well written, nice cadence and it did have me thinking of another time and place. I am not familiar with the books but I liked the poem.

[carl]

much appreciated read and review, thanks, willweb.