A young elephant can die
of a broken heart
should his mother leave.
I was an elephant once
just for a time.
Then I stood up,
tusk and trunk,
like she taught me –
stepped onto the prairie;
dry eyes drinking the dawn.
Ryan Stone
Drinking the Dawn
Comments
47 responses to “Drinking the Dawn”
Beautiful, Ryan – with a sad, deeper meaning it seems. The painting is beautiful as well, with an unsettling separation between the two.
Hi Ryan, is this an edit of a previous poem? I seem to remember the line “dry eyes drinking the dawn” coming last before – I think the reason I remembered it was because I found that such a poignant, beautiful and effective ending. But this version is still pretty as well 🙂
This is so beautiful Ryan, and it is true, elephants can be heartbroken…lovely image too ❤
Hi Ryan I am not sure if you accept Bloggers Awards I nominated you for my Starlight Blogger Award! ❤
http://yesterdayafter.com/2015/10/22/starlight-blogger-award-and-a-special-thanks-to-many/
Oh my.. let’s see. The title is an intriguing alliteration awakening thirst in reader’s mind.
The poem is structured in a very skillful way. The breaking of the lines, and separation of the stanzas provides a platform for the drifting apart imagery to settle. The choice of the animal shows your knowledge on the fact that elephants do not forget easily. No matter what, the little one, will still remember the pain of separation.
The painting brings such another dimension to the poem.
poetry, painting…Is there anything you cannot do??
This brings out the maternal side of me. You’ve captured the essence of our time on this planet, so incredibly well in so few lines. You have allowed the reader to adapt your words to any meaning as they see fit. Beautiful.
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Thank you for your visit and for taking the time to leave such considerate feedback – it makes the writing worthwhile 🙂
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Separation is sad but oft times a part of life. I imagine the anxiety and sense of loss when a mother leaves is the same across many species. I remember reading this one before. Beautiful poetry and painting, my friend.
beautiful poem, very moving. My condolences to your friend. My friend lost her mother at the beginning of this year.
This is one of my favorite pieces. I’ve remembered this piece since I first read it. It’s mind blowing. 🙂
Youve got a great collectiom of words out here.
You might wanna check mine….if possible.
https://mahekmithare.wordpress.com/
:’)
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