13 March 2023 – Nature #1

Nature. What is it? What Is It Not?

• What is nature? Is it a person’s qualities and characteristics? Is so, which parts of us are created by “nature,” and which by “nurture?”
• Is nature the non-human world or are human beings a part of nature as well?
• How about the term, Mother Nature? That appellation appears to contain both animate and inanimate forms – a tree growing out of a rock cliff, for example. Mother Nature – nature personified as a creative and controlling force.
• We generally appreciate being “out in nature”, which most understand as – out in relatively “wild” spaces touched by people less often than in human habitations / of humanity.
• Natural world – the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations. (Note the explicit statement of separation of the two.)
• Breed characteristics – think German Shepherd dogs and warrior societies. Note that we chafe at using the word “breed” applied to humans.
• Temperament – now there’s one we can probably applies to both human and nonhuman species – there it is again . . . “species" applies to all life forms.
• Environment and Living Systems – go ahead – define that one.

Until our readers say otherwise – see Exploration 2 for more precise directions – we will focus on two aspects of “Nature”: the interface of human nonhuman life forms (animate and inanimate). If you have a favorite nature poem (yours or someone else’s), send it our way to share with all our readers.

POEMS

We are pleased to feature “the secret to catching leaves” by Nathan Vinehout Kane. Nathan is a participant in the Any-Time group that has begun contributing to the Wannaskan Almanac. We are excited to introduce Nathan, our second presentation from the A-T poets. See the February 13 post for more details about A-T poets. We look forward to introducing you to other members in future posts.

the secret to catching leaves

Leaves twist in fading twilight -    

falling ruby red, amber yellow -

bright jewels to a young boy

collected in plastic peanut butter jars.  

 

Brought to dad like a cat with his mouse,

stowed in shed for winter after sorting -

jars for 3 or 4 seasons stockpiled

before homework, games, girls got in the way.

When small town boy left for big city learning,

the leaves wrinkled brown, left like

the drummer set and stuffed bunny Lolo -

hardly remembered until dad’s poem:

 

Leaves falling

Dancing in the swirling wind 

Wondering where the boy is 

Who caught them

Before the music stopped 

 

The years tumble by, fluttering past boy’s grasp.

He stopped cutting his hair, found a job,

followed a girl to the far coast,

but the leaves still call him home.

 

There’s a secret to catching them:

Don’t chase - or try to guess the wind.

Let them come to you.

Timing is everything, as dad always said.

 

Remember your roots too,

but he was wrong about one thing:

the music still plays -  

he’s a boy who always

catches a leaf each fall.

The next two poems are by CatherineStenzel, one of the Wannaskan Almanac’s original contributors. Each Monday, she rides herd on poets’ work for your reading and experience pleasure, making sure to include her own creations, like it or not, for your evaluation, enjoyment, or dismissal.  

Green

Her foot crushes the green snake’s head

Minted smoke swirls within the fourth flying

If the elect could dream, snow would turn

to emerald

and birthing, trickle down spring leaves

then paint the worst words in blood

on the willow-draped wall

Goose Walking

Part 1

Canadian Goose ambles down Forest road with no pond or field near

Canadian Goose waddles along gravel way, no gosling beaks at her rear

Canadian Goose pads along Forest road listing left and right deferring flight

Goose alone – a gander’s absence rather strange for those who mate for life

Stranger still to walk alone in this season of procreation, hatching, learning to be goose

The edge of summer rising sudden – humid greening, waxing wild

So, why a solitary Goose? A wrong turn spiraling through the pines?

She chitters to herself, head a swiveling turret of inquiring

why the car with window down has pulled up beside her 

“Who is this strange creature,” she may be thinking, “with wheels where webs should be?”

Rain-pressed roads mean everyone springs up to life after adverse winter

Even this Goose on her walk-about seems to listen to distant goose-throated honks

She cocks her white-chinned head, looks skyward, her dark brown eyes alert and bright

What reason can she have for strolling grounded under dripping pines?

Perhaps her weather forecast’s out of date? Her flight plan cancelled by galactic whim.

In farm fields of soy and corn husks many beaks gather goslings tended, eating hearty

with heads down, rooting, flipping, burrowing chuff and chaff

Together, families cluster with their not-yet fledglings

Yet this Goose trundles slowly down the Forest path – why ever so?

These geese take a mate for life to stay and fly beside

Spring after spring

Brood after brood

Flight after flight

together all their days and across a lifetime’s nights

Waddle waddle through the puddles, not enough to swim

Could it be she mourns for her lost gander, all thought turned toward him?

Turning

by Victoria Chang

My mother is dead.

The lemons still turn yellow,

the trout still stare emptily,

desire is still free.

We still love many people,

eat peaches as if kissing. 

One Haiku – Many Translations – 

A common type of nature poetry is the haiku. This type of poem is short – three lines with 5-7-5 syllables, and it usually focuses on some sort of natural element, such as animals, plants, the seasons, and nonhuman formations. Below are several translations of one haiku that is one of the most famous. It was written by Matsuo Basho.

It is a mistake to think that a rule of haiku poetry is that it must include a reference or image of nature. Haiku do not have to be about nature. Many haiku contain images of nature, but they can also focus on the expression of various emotions, such as love, sadness, and despair.

An old silent pond...

A frog jumps into the pond,

splash! Silence again.

Translated by William J. Higginson

'Dere wasa dis frogg

Gone jumpa offa da logg

Now he inna bogg.'

Anonymous

Literal Translation

Fu-ru (old) i-ke (pond) ya,

ka-wa-zu (frog) to-bi-ko-mu (jumping into)

mi-zu (water) no o-to (sound)

Background

Nathan Vinehout Kane resides in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He is a member of both the MN League of Poets, and he participates in Any-Time. His favorite poet is Mary Oliver.

Victoria Chang’s books have received numerous awards, including include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Sustainable Arts Foundation Award, the Poetry Society of America’s Alice Fay Di Castagnola Award, a Pushcart Prize, and a MacDowell Colony Fellowship. She lives in Los Angeles and is the program chair of Antioch’s Low-Residency MFA Program.

Catherine Stenzel is a poet and nonfiction writer. She has an undergraduate and master’s degree in English and English Instruction. She lives in Beltrami Island Forest, Minnesota with her beloved husband, and two canine companions.

Exploration 1: Which of the poems in this post makes you feel the essence of nature the most? Why? Does anything feel trite or unartistic?

Exploration 2: At the beginning of this post, a variety of examples of “nature” are presented. Which one(s) would you like to see most often in this series of poems that focus on the diverse aspects of Nature poems?

Exploration 3: Poetry that focuses on nature almost always has sharp, crisp, rich images. Please cite one or more in the poems above that particularly sparkled out for you.

Exploration 4: Do insects have natures? Think stinging insects, arachnids (trick here), butterflies, mosquitoes, horseflies, bees, and so on.