Here are the words:
Bend under those pails of water
Too heavy to stand-up straight
But today we irrigate the grain.
The distant sybil of rain
Another ephemeral promise unfulfilled …
We’ve looked to the east
And then we looked to the west
Wondering what we should do,
To limit the dust wind’s damage
In case the rain failed once again …
Now, as we take the short shaded lane
The dust flies into our eyes …
Kansas is just a dust bowl
I think we’ll soon leave these parts.
More Information about the depression and the great storms that created the dust bowl:
http://www.stockpickssystem.com/the-great-depression/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_Bowl
These were also the photo sources.
The Depression in the 1930 occurred when the population of the world was about 2 billion. It is about 7 billion today. I would like to think that there is some grand plan for sustainability. I do want to see it published as a sort of assurance for the future. Am I just kidding myself?
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Dear Oldegg,
History has a tendancy to repeat itself, probably because we don’t actually control anything though we’ve been taught that we are the masters of the planet and we suffer from a perminent case of historical amnesia.
Droughts happen, epidemics happen, world economic crunches are periodical … if you add that to the singular greed of those who have and the passivity of those that don’t, racial prejudices, class prejudices, religious prejudices etal … you have a formula for a very bad scenerio, basically because we never seem to learn how to live together … we make magnificent tools and don’t know how to control ourselves. Like giving a child a machine gun and telling him not to pull the trigger.
So in a world with over 7 billion people, an economical crisis that’s been building ever worse over the last 10 years or so and all our power of mass destruction, I think maybe we were better off in 1930 and that was a very bad period, which brought about the second world war.
I wish there were a grand plan for sutainability … but I don’t see any signs pointing in that direction. It’s still everyone for himself in a situation where we have to pull together.
Sorry, Bastet.
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Oh my goodness!!! What do I think? Wonderful ! Exquisite poem in form – content and presentation (the slide show is brilliant). If this hasn’t bern submitted for publication – please do not hesitate!
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How dust can hit hard…poetically there is a resolution…to survive..move forward and on…we must tell ourselves that so that our imagination and hope never runs dry
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I do so agree … but always keeping in mind sad truths and realities .. thanks for the comment!
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I liked the poem. Also liked the interchange with Old Egg. We do have to pull together and it goes against our natural instincts. But, to survive, we must. First, though, we must find politicians that understand that.
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Aye … there’s the rub. One of our oldest problems … our leaders. Glad you enjoyed the poem and the interchange. 🙂
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My mother grew up in Kansas during the Dust Bowl. Were she still alive, I’m sure she could identify with every aspect of your poem.
Whirl for August 10th
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I’d met some older people who’d gone through that period … it was pretty bad. Sorry for your loss, but thanks for sharing this with me.
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Your poem and slide show reminded me of reading The Grapes of Wrath which I’ve read several times. But, your exchange with Old Egg really focused in on many of my own thoughts recently. Thank you,
Elizabeth
http://soulsmusic.wordpress.com/
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Thanks Elizabeth, I’m happy the you enjoyed the post and the exchange. They were particularly hard times that are slipping from our memory I think … history should never be forgotten it helps us focus the present better.
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And of course — Grapes of Wraith gave an account of those times… just as Elisabeth says…
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Yep … haven’t read it in years but I thank you both for bringing it to mind.
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Great work! Thanks for writing this!
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I love how you’ve knitted the Dust Bowl from this Word Whirl – you’ve done it powerfully and given us a lot to think about.
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Thanks Jen .. I didn’t know I was going there … the first line started inviting the others until I reached the conclusion … then I edited and looked for photos.
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It’s WONDERFUL when one line just leads right into the next like that! 😀
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It really is .. I was so surprised – but pretty pleased too in the end. 🙂
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As well you should be — it was really good. 🙂
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Thanks .. really!
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Very welcome!
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Pingback: Yesterday’s Posts – August 11, 2014 | Bastet and Sekhmet's Library
you’ve brought about some gritty truths..and the same old foul diseases existed, exist and probably will exist…sigh…
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Yep, until we start working on how we see the world I think you’ve the right of it.
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Dust is just so destructive and rain brings the blessing of hope. Perhaps there are lessons to be heard here, Great writing.
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Thanks Alan … this poem sort of exorcised my feelings about all the rain we’re having this summer 😉
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I adore “the distant sybil of rain”. Brilliant.
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Thanks! A prophacy unfulfilled for so long!
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