Comment from C. Gale Burnett

Excellent

I think Gloria will be very appreciative of her steer making an appearance in this very THOUGHT-PROVOKING poem.
Great illustration for your work.
Like the black background for your poem.
I love your rhyme pattern and apologize for asking, but I seem to be learning as I go. Can you tell me what the rhyme scheme is? aab ...
Your writing is always exceptional :)

 Comment Written 01-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 01-Dec-2018

The rhyme scheme, in its complete form is aab ccb dde ffe... what that is called, or who may have used it, I have no clue... It's similar in beat and the use of internal rhyme to a pattern Banjo Paterson used in some of his poems, for example:

On the outer Barcoo
where the churches are few,
And men of religion are scanty,
On a road never cross'd
'cept by folk that are lost,
One Michael Magee had a shanty.

The difference is, his are 2/2/3 three beat lines, and the ones in my poem are 4/4/5.

More than that, I can't tell you, sorry!

Many thanks for the lovely review,

Craig

reply by C. Gale Burnett on 02-Dec-2018

I am MOST GRATEFUL!
Thank you!

Comment from LIJ Red

Excellent

A.C. Clarke wrote a neat short story...aliens were studying the extinct species of Earth, puzzled by a mystifying degraded recording that ended "Th- th- that's all folks." I hope you are wrong, but they are already calling it the Sixth Extinction.
Five stars on the poem...

 Comment Written 01-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 01-Dec-2018

Now that is clever, I must try and track that down. There was an episode of The Twilight Zone which was titled "To Serve Man"; the meaning of which is not what many would first think :) Cheers, Craig

Comment from Sandra du Plessis

Excellent

A very well-written tbought-provoking poem about global extinction that will certainly happen one or other time and the human race is in danger as any other specie, plant or animal to becone extinct.

 Comment Written 01-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 01-Dec-2018

Thanks very much, Sandra. Yes, indeed, all good things (and even not so good ones) come to an end eventually.

Comment from lyenochka

Excellent

Good point - we are never exempt! And we may be surprised at who survives. (Aren't the dragons a kind of dinosaur? Nessie? Perhaps more survived than we know.)
Anyway, enjoyed your poem and you did great! Also, enjoyed Gloria's poems on Knickers.

 Comment Written 01-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 01-Dec-2018

I think they are very closely related, Helen, but the commonly accepted view is that all but the avian dinosaurs died out after that event. I guess whoever came up with that theory never met my 5th and 6th grade teacher. Many thanks, Craig

Comment from Dawn Munro

Exceptional

There's not a word that I can write
to contradict a poem that might
in fact, be words a living prophet scribed.

Unless, perhaps, it's these --

"Beware, ye fools, lest you obtain
the very thing you 'd like to deign
improbable--extinction has arrived.

 Comment Written 01-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 01-Dec-2018

That's the great thing about prophecy... if something which could possibly be interpreted as being pretty close to what was forecast, happens, the author can claim to be a genius. Of course, with some prophecies, there would be no one around to applaud that genius lol

I enjoyed your poetic response very much, Dawn, even without the shiny stars; they were the icing on the cake :)

Many thanks,
Craig

reply by Dawn Munro on 03-Dec-2018

Ain't it the truth, and I honestly think we are getting darn close to that point in time. ASIDE from EVERYTHING else, our oceans are toilets anymore, with massive areas of floating debris, dead reefs, sea life (so much food) full of plastic... IF they've even survived. *sigh* :(((

Comment from MissMerri

Excellent

This is a fun and thought-provoking poem. As always, it is fun to learn a new word, and thought-provoking to contemplate the meaning of this poem. I always wonder, how much do you believe yourself? Do you think there are creatures on other planets, inter-stellar guests who visit earth in space ships? Or, if not yet, will perhaps someday? I always wish you would write something besides a poem, something to explain your thinking. Of course, I wish I, too, would write an essay now and then. I've started many, but never finish. ;"(

Thanks for sharing this. I really LOVE this rhyme pattern. It is one of my favorites, actually, and you do it extremely well. MM

 Comment Written 01-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 01-Dec-2018

Hi MM, thanks for the lovely review. As far as alien life goes, I have no clue. I seriously doubt that aliens zip around in their spaceships, inconveniently crashing in New Mexico deserts, only to have their existence hushed up by government agencies. I also think it's unlikely that people get kidnapped, taken aboard spaceships, and have horrible experiments performed upon them. In fact, I think it improbable that extra-terrestrial life of any sort has ever visited Earth.

Could Earth be the only planet out of perhaps a hundred thousand billion billion in the universe where life has formed? I suppose it's possible, but to me it seems statistically unlikely. It's possible the universe, totally unbeknown to us, is teeming with life.

Well there, as is often the case, I've expended a lot of words, and said little lol

I have a couple of topics on which I'd love to write a series of essays, mainly just as a means of getting my thoughts down on paper, in the unlikely event my offspring should ever be curious enough to know what they were ;-) I actually did start the process a while back, and got a few chapters done, but I found it hard enough just to produce a poem a day, so that's been shelved, for at least another month.

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend :)

Craig

Comment from Jannypan (Jan)

Exceptional

You did a great job, Craig, extolling what may happen to humans die to their erratic, egotistical behavior and disdain for the environment. You are right. Humans can see the problems everywhere but in themselves. Good job with your presentation--I like the color scheme, the image, the formatting of lines, the great rhymes, and the message that all need to hear. Thanks for sharing. Jan

 Comment Written 01-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 01-Dec-2018

Thank you so much for the delightful comments, and the wonderful rating, Jan. I'm glad you appreciated the poem, and most thankful for your lovely review. Craig

Comment from bichonfrisegirl

Excellent

SIX STARS. virtual This is great, Craig. That's one terrific image that you chose to complement this very well written poem. Your tercets paints a clear image of what could befall mankind one day, should a giant asteroid hit the earth again. Great rhyme scheme. Though your poem touches on a serious subject, I love that you presented it in a light-hearted way. You and Gloria (and your cows) can't help but make us smile. :)

Cheers (or should I say Moo?),
Connie

 Comment Written 01-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 01-Dec-2018

Haha Moo too yoo too, Connie!

Thanks for the lovely comments, and the virtual six stars, I appreciate both very much.

Enjoy the remainder of your weekend,

Craig

Comment from Debbie Pope

Excellent

Personally, I have been trying, without success, to channel Gloria's talent since I joined Fan Story almost a year ago. You have a talent of your own that I am also, without success, trying to channel.
This depressing piece is a good sampling of that talent. There's never any second guessing what topic you will expound upon. It's always fascinating to read.

 Comment Written 01-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 01-Dec-2018

Thank you for the lovely comments, Debbie. I guess the takeaway from them is that we all... you, Gloria, myself, and all the other writers here, have our own unique voice, and we're better of letting it speak than trying to be someone else :) Most grateful for the continued support, Craig.

Comment from BeasPeas

Excellent

Excellent. So true. Humans get caught up in themselves, but one blip could totally wipe us out and life would start all over again from the ooze. When we get caught up in our daily angst, we all have to stop and think--"how important is it?" Marilyn

 Comment Written 01-Dec-2018

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reply by the author on 01-Dec-2018

I suppose it's important to us at the time, but in the grand scheme of things, not so much. Many thanks for the great comments, Marilyn. Craig