Friday, June 11, 2010

Poetry Friday: Kipling and the Oil Spill

 The PB oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico began on April 21st
52 days ago.

Ah, weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease!... 

The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee...


Seal Lullaby by Rudyard Kipling


Oh! hush thee, my baby, the night is behind us, 
And black are the waters that sparkled so green. 
The moon, o'er the combers, looks downward to find us
At rest in the hollows that rustle between.
Where billow meets billow, there soft be thy pillow; 
Ah, weary wee flipperling, curl at thy ease! 
The storm shall not wake thee, nor shark overtake thee, 
Asleep in the arms of the slow-swinging seas.

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Poetry Friday round-up is being hosted today by Kelly Poldark. Go over, enjoy.

7 comments:

  1. Thanks for this post, Julie. Moments ago, I was listening to radio news that the oil had reached Florida's Gulf beaches. Dark times.

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  2. Poor creatures. So very tragic. I'll never be able to understand such unconscionable greed and disregard for our planet.

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  3. Julie,

    All the reports about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are really depressing me.

    I read an article this week about another oil rig that's been leaking in the Gulf since late April. We haven't heard much news about that one, have we?

    http://blog.al.com/live/2010/06/another_gulf_oil_spill_well_ne.html

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  4. Julie, I can barely listen to the news reports. Last night I heard that the largest number of dead sea turtles being found were the rarest.

    It is beyond heartbreaking. . .Kipling's keen was the perfect match for my feelings.

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  5. Oh, Julie. What a poem - and photos - for these sad days. Thank you for the reflection. I have been so unsure what to write about this - it's just so big and terrible.
    A.

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  6. How very current this poem is--thanks for sharing it.

    I'm reading Major Pettigrew's Last Stand, and the major and his lady friend are big Kipling fans. All I know of Kipling's poetry is "If." I can still recite the first few lines, and it's probably been 50 years since I first read it!

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  7. That is heartbreaking. Thanks for sharing and and reminding everyone our earth is fragile.
    (I am going through the links on my post and realized I mislinked yours! I'm so sorry! It is fixed now!)

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