Tsunami waves of misunderstanding
surge from sea and overland,
destruction in their flow,
flotsam when they go.
But beneath blue sky,
the heron stands in pensive pose—
His thoughts? Who knows?
Warm-blooded, hollow-boned, his lungs
an ancient dinosaurs’ shifted gift, far-flung-DNA
stays. Life everlasting.
It’s quadrille Monday at dVerse. Lisa has asked us to use the word stand.
Yesterday and today: Merril's historical musings 
Merril, I think those tsunami waves are understood, but each is entrenched in their own self-serving stance. We aren’t going to survive if we cannot pull together into single-minded effort. It’s going to take a miracle 😦 Hoping that if we pass on as a species, the heron and the rest carry on. Thought-provoking poem!
Thank you for your very thoughtful comment, Lisa! 💙
You’re most welcome, Merril ❤
Very beautiful, Merril!
Thank you, Lucy!
Really terrific poem, Merril!
I’m falling in love with the Delaware River.
Thank you, Resa. 😀
😀
Thoughtful and beautiful Quadrille. I especially like the last lines.
“Warm-blooded, hollow-boned, his lungs
an ancient dinosaurs’ shifted gift, far-flung-DNA
stays. Life everlasting.”
I really do hope life is everlasting even if we destroy most the habitats.
Thank you, Helene.
Yes, I hope so, too. I think some sort of life is bound to survive.
You’ve crossed vast distances of space and time with your words, Merril. Your lines echo with deep time – an impressive feat in so few words!
Thanks so much, Ingrid. That’s lovely! 💙
Well said, Ingrid!
💙
Thanks Liz!
You’re welcome, Ingrid!
Evolutionary verse. Very enjoyable read. Thanks, M!
Thanks, Ron. 😀
Time captured in 44 words. Amazing. Well penned.
Thank you so much, Beverly!
well said in such a few words
Thank you so much!
Waves of misunderstanding are often like a tsunami.
Yes, they are! Thank you, Reena.
Lovely, Merril!
Thank you, Jill!
I’m amazed at how a meaningful topic fit so gracefully into the brevity of a quadrille.
Thank you so much, Mish!
I love the part about the dinosaur heritage. So often people think birds are cute. Your poem reminds us where they came from and focuses on the nobility. I like this.
Thank you so much, Claudia.
Sometimes they really look like dinosaurs to me, and the more I’ve heard and read about how they’re connected, I’m more intrigued.
Yes, I felt the same way – at first I could not even believe that dinosaur part but the more I watch their behaviors, well, I do believe it.
It is sort of amazing to think about–and also that some dinosaurs were brightly colored.
So those plastic toys turned out to be right, the ones I played with when I was young…!
Hahaha.
Nature stands firm, curious about the circus of stupidity that is this human chaos — wondering when this madness will pass.
Thank you so much, Rob. I suspect it won’t end till we’re destroyed. Though I hope that’s not the case.
Luv the way you travel across time boundaries in this one
Thanks for dropping by to read mine
Much❤love
Thank you very much, Gillena!
And you’re welcome!
Very nicely done Merril. It is inspiring the see Nature rise and stand against any challenge. Great poem.
Thank you very much, Dwight!
Good idea to use a heron for the word stands. After seeing the one standing in my yard it seems a classic pose.
Thank you. When I saw the word stand, I thought of a heron right away.
Great minds think alike ;).
Hahaha. Yes!
wow. you captured a moment and bless it with meaning, Merril. beautifully done.
Thank you so much for your kind words!
Simply fantastic, Merril – truly.
I really loved this.
❤
David
Thank you so much, David! 💙
You captured ages in a quadrille! Very thought-provoking, Merril.
Thank you so much!
My pleasure.
Contrasting humanity so well with natural wildlife.
Thank you, Derrick. Yes.
Your poem left me awash in fear. (Gut reaction.)
Interesting! Thank you, Liz!
You’re welcome, Merril!
Love this!
Thank you!
Brilliant, my friend. As many have said, you captured so much in 44 words.
Thank you so much, Dale!
🙂
Epic quadrille. The strong waves are brief and leave only flotsam, but the ancient bones of the bird have survived it all. Makes me reconsider what makes something powerful. Magical.
Thank you so much! I really love how you expressed that.
You ‘watercolor painted’ us a beautiful Quadrille.
Thank you so much, Helen!
So thoughtful Merril! Fantastic!
Thank you very much!
Beautiful and thoughtful poem, Merril. ♥ I never thought of the Delaware River as beautiful until I started following your morning walks on IG.
Thank you so much, Robin. Well, it’s not all beautiful, but I try to show what is. 😀
Thank goodness for the heron, standing pensively in an ancient mood, wondering when humanity will smarten up. I love Great Blue Herons, and I love this poem.
Thank you so much, Pam.💙
There’s an awful lot we don’t understand, the heron neither. But we plough ahead and make the mess worse by meddling in what we don’t understand. The heron accepts that it knows about fish and flight and sticks with what it does best.
Lovely quadrille.
Thank you very much.
I know the heron’s are probably simply thinking about catching fish and staying safe, but they do look so pensive when they stand there–like they could be thinking about the universe. 😀
In a way, that is the universe. Or it ought to be. Everyone contemplating her/his place in it. Herons are happy being herons. They don’t have ambitions to be elephants or lawnmowers…
Yes, I suppose so–although we don’t actually know what the herons think. 😀
That’s true. We don’t know what any animal thinks and we’ve always assumed that they don’t, but that assumption has been knocked on the head lately.
Very true! It’s the human assumption to think we’re superior, when most likely we’re just different.
If there was money to be made in research into animal intelligence, we’d know a lot more, but it’s not in anyone’s interest to discover that cows and pigs are as sensitive and emotive as people.
Very true. 😀
Wouldn’t it be great if people gave us the same space they might only give animals???
Yes–thank you!
Beautiful!
Lovely poem! 💙
Thank you!