What a fantastic reminder that our perspective is not the only perspective and that another perspective is not the only one. Multiple perspectives on one situation can co-exist simultaneously. It's not about truth or falsehood, good or bad, or right or wrong. It is about what is.
An entirely fresh perspective on nature - a respect so deep for it that it becomes an honor to be eaten by it and so become a part of its magnificence.
I love how the poem transmits the poets’ self awareness. Maybe in a moment in which they felt like they were wasting their time, or maybe fighting illness or recognizing one’s mortality. A beautiful encounter that exhorted the poet to question their life and yet recognize the beauty and comfort that we are one with the universe and that even death is a continuation of life itself. A transmutation of energy..
As a young man I spent about a month in the backcountry of the Sespe Condor Sanctuary. At that time those birds were near extinction. U never had a close encounter like that of Jeffers, but I think I was able to feel the presence and the looming tragedy faced by those great birds. I remember awakening in the early morning and breathing in the pungent aroma of bay laurel wafting into the hotsprings from the surrounding trees. And I have never forgotten the assembly of rattlesnakes warming themselves on the rock outcroppings around the hot pools.
Here is a sung version of “Vulture” which I composed last year as part of my song cycle —“Birth-Dues”— which adapts Jeffers poems; I have been performing when able throughout the year. The link is only an excerpt from one live performance (which was very special to me) and I did slip up on one word. Forthcoming will be a release of an album version. I am glad to see this poem shared!
What a fantastic reminder that our perspective is not the only perspective and that another perspective is not the only one. Multiple perspectives on one situation can co-exist simultaneously. It's not about truth or falsehood, good or bad, or right or wrong. It is about what is.
A prayerful wish for metamorphosis into another life. The anticipation of transformative death.
I looked at the photo and saw Harry Dean Stanton. I read it in his voice, which was magnificent.
"what an enskyment;" Wow!
Exactly!
ENSKYMENT! Let that word become a permanent part of my vocabulary.
Unadorned and so well written.
I expect my flesh to be food for microorganisms, who will be consumed by worms and eventually by birds or taken up by tree roots and recycled.
Jeffers 🙏
Yeah, he always gets me as he consistently takes the more-than-human perspective.
Soul food.
sky burial is an ancient custom in Tibet- but not being pecked to death to get there :-)
https://www2.kenyon.edu/Depts/Religion/Fac/Adler/Reln260/skyburial.htm
Well, now I want to be eaten by a vulture. That is the power of poetry.
An entirely fresh perspective on nature - a respect so deep for it that it becomes an honor to be eaten by it and so become a part of its magnificence.
I love how the poem transmits the poets’ self awareness. Maybe in a moment in which they felt like they were wasting their time, or maybe fighting illness or recognizing one’s mortality. A beautiful encounter that exhorted the poet to question their life and yet recognize the beauty and comfort that we are one with the universe and that even death is a continuation of life itself. A transmutation of energy..
As a young man I spent about a month in the backcountry of the Sespe Condor Sanctuary. At that time those birds were near extinction. U never had a close encounter like that of Jeffers, but I think I was able to feel the presence and the looming tragedy faced by those great birds. I remember awakening in the early morning and breathing in the pungent aroma of bay laurel wafting into the hotsprings from the surrounding trees. And I have never forgotten the assembly of rattlesnakes warming themselves on the rock outcroppings around the hot pools.
Here is a sung version of “Vulture” which I composed last year as part of my song cycle —“Birth-Dues”— which adapts Jeffers poems; I have been performing when able throughout the year. The link is only an excerpt from one live performance (which was very special to me) and I did slip up on one word. Forthcoming will be a release of an album version. I am glad to see this poem shared!
https://ethankosssmith.substack.com/p/vulture
A majestic interpretation.
No words🔥
Love this.