Sestina: Gardeners of Eden

I would appreciate comments on both the poetry and the politics.
by George Dance
(libertarian)
Wednesday, December 31, 2008

To my readers (if any 8) :

I've been writing far less political non-fiction since the U.S. election last month, focussing more on my previous interest, poetry. I intend to continue this column, though, and wanted to stay in touch; so I've taken the liberty of posting a poem with a political theme. I would appreciate comments on both the poetry and the politics.

-

Gardeners of Eden

for A.D. Graham

In Africa, gazelles roam the savannah
With various and sundry other beasts:
Hyenas, lions, zebras cross the plain.
You, too, can fly first-class to ogle nature
There in the raw, to see life live and die             
In pristine habitat, unspoiled by man.
                                                
Adjust the focus, though, and there is man
In tiny huts that dot the wide savannah;
In starkest poverty they live and die                 
Half-starving, like the other native beasts:
An early death to keep the balance of nature,            
Another pile of bones upon the plain.

One backward look’s enough to make it plain  
That such was once the lot of every man,
A brute existence at the grace of nature:
Starvation stalked in forest and savannah,
Diseases, dangers lurking both from beasts                      
And other men  – they learned to kill or die.  

Today we do much more than live and die
Like that. Look forward now: Is it not plain
We can be something more than merely beasts,
That so much lies ahead for life, for man,
For us; why not for men of the savannah?
Must they be merely set aside for nature?

It seems they must; for here we all love nature,
In Africa at least. "Let kaffir die"
Could be the motto of those green savannah
Groups that strive to save that precious plain
And never give a single thought to man.
Are men somehow less valuable than beasts?

If one loves humans, how can one love beasts?
To survive, a man must conquer nature –
The only other choice, enslave a man
And live a parasite (of course he’ll die
But there’ll be others)  – that at least is plain.
So, should you ever visit the savannah,

Do ask to see the beasts, to see them die
In glorious nature, death upon the plain:                    
The bones of man upon the vast savannah.

-

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©2008 George Dance, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Last modified: Saturday, August 27, 2011

The views expressed in this article are those of George Dance only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. George Dance is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.

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