Dead and Living Things
These perfectly elongated teardrops
Are living cellular sculptures.
Their bladelike edges slice the air,
As they gently fall to earth.
Their spear tips – razor sharp, drop like feathers,
But their soft, delicate bodies
Soon harden and crack from harsh sun,
Leaving them dry and withered.
Now, discarded and unwanted they lie
Littering the well-worn pathways
Where nature’s creatures search for food
Amidst their cracked carcasses.
Their scent entices many predators –
Delicious eucalyptus oils
That waft through the morning breezes
To ignite keen appetites.
Their leaves, left to endure the ravages
Of caterpillars and the like
Are devoured – but never destroyed
As in seed they’ll grow once more.
About this poem
Isn't nature wonderful!
Font size:
Submitted by susannaelliott on April 25, 2024
- 36 sec read
- 112 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AAXX AAXX XAXA AAAA AXXX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 711 |
Words | 122 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Translation
Find a translation for this poem in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"Dead and Living Things" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/186004/dead-and-living-things>.
Discuss the poem Dead and Living Things with the community...
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In