2 November 2004 12:26 pm
Adapt to Survive
An earthquake tilts a pin oak to the Earth,
Yet its toppled limbs continue to thrust.
The fire that transmutes a jack pine to dust
Stimulates it seeds for the wood's rebirth.
Flood waters flow from sky, river, and firth,
And yet a cyprus swamp remains robust.
A wind enraged shreds maple limbs; the gust
Is beaten by buds that increase its girth.
A skyscraper is toppled to the ground;
A cottage becomes a smoldering hive;
A steel bridge is buried beneath the sound;
A barn is tumbled in a windswept dive.
Man needs to learn from nature so profound.
That nature always adapts to survive.
Cazenovia, New York
1990
This is the first sonnet that I wrote. I think the second one is stronger. Like the second sonnet, this one is also inspired by Transcendentalism philosophy that I was studying in school at the time.
