The first paragraph = the first line, the way it is displayed here, NT

Posted by Karen on February 25, 2002 at 20:36:30:

In Reply to: School thingymajiggeridoo posted by Hannah on February 25, 2002 at 20:24:41:

: *The first paragraph is the prompt I had to work with for the rest of the poem. Here it is!!...*

: The waters belong to Ardis, the trees to the woldwellers, the skies to the wind. And the mountains belong to us. But what belongs to the people? Nothing.
: The people own cities that do not last, clothes and possessions that mean nothing. Ardis owns waters deep and blue, the woldwellers trees with deep roots that last an eternity. The skies own an endless row of blue and soft summer breezes, the dwarves large mounds of earth that always last in their beauty.
: The people own prized animals that are not truly owned, houses that are soon not there, and property that is owned by others. What do the people own? Everything. Truly and in spirit, with the rightful ownership? Well, then, the answer is nothing.
: We can name huge waterfalls, sparkling and fresh. We can give long scientific titles to winds rushing past, lightly rustling leaves and raising ocean waves slightly higher. We, the people, can do all of this. We can label the highest mountain peaks, dusted with powdery white snow, but do we own them? No.
: Face the facts, and be cheerful about it, we never owned them, and never will. Not until Ardis is gone, and every woldweller has passed away, and all the dwarves are gone. Not until the very wind that rushes through the sky has died away, and by then the mountains will be eroded to a stub.
: Then, and only then, will we own these things, these prized possessions, that don’t disappear, and don’t fade away. Then, and only then, will they be gone, their essence having been stolen.
:

Follow Ups:

Post a Followup