DSS Part 8: Unusual Perspectives

African Elephant Watches her Trunk (T)
by Jeter Skeet

Plains Zebra (T)
by Jeter Skeet

What is it like visually to be part of a zebra herd?  Confusing?

Hammercop Reflection (T)
by Jeter Skeet

Panther Cameleon's Tail (R)
by Jeter Skeet

Montezuma's Oropendola (CR)
by Jeter Skeet

Birds like dogs will shake off the rain.

Sunset Reveals Landscape's Pattern (T)
by Jeter Skeet

Words

Dangle them from monkey bars,
Bounce them up and down on trampolines,

Spin them dizzy on merry-go-rounds,
Push them higher and higher on swings.

Why do we use words primarily for
serious matters or telling jokes?

Whistle to the birds as they build their nests.
Rivet at the frogs who invite you to mate.
Bark at the dogs.
Chirp at the squirrels.

Animals have words too.

Wade into sounds,
pack them into balls,
bury them in sand.
Dip them into pools,
twirl them in the sun,
laugh as they tickle your tongue.
Now bend your arm,
stretch it high, and
toss those words into a poem.

Flowing

I am the St. Johns River.
Mother Earth gives me life,
nourishes me with streams and warm springs.

As I flow, I feel
power as my waters brush
against Cyprus knobs and piers,
cormorants and anhingas who pierce
my waters as they dive to feed,
fish who tickle me as they swim
in my currents.

As I flow, I listen to
motor boats rushing upstream and down,
mating calls of herons, osprey, and more,
rains that sustain me.

As I flow, I smell
flowers and trees,
pheromones,
the life that surrounds me.

As I flow, I watch
birds who fly with a freedom
I’ll never know,
my currents play with reflections—
such beauty.
and I watch you watching me.

I am the St. Johns River.
I flow, then merge with my own kind
in a vast sea of togetherness.

reflection in a quiet section of river
by Jeter Skeet