Poem Vault: Giants

And so I walk in silence, among the moss and tree

And wonder of those who had wandered long before I breathed;

Whose giants roamed, whilst they looked so high.

The ground shaken and fear embracen sky.

Wanderers they roamed, so few

To escape the sorrowful air

But each place they returned to, a weapon too would stare;

A sodden rock, a shaven twig;
To puncture the heart so big.

Now so long later, I wonder in the silence

At which fate did bring them to their knees;

and choked their breath like a hot stale wind,

Coming to a seize.

Eerie caw echoes, but only creaks speak back;

And so then silence the air became;

And we carried on in our little packs--

a whisper, a squeak.

I wonder if perhaps those
beasts 

Were no beast at all;

But a fear of a cricket to I, who
Would not notice
That it lived at all, if not for its singing in the night.

We would not see

So perhaps we did not exist until the fight

Brought down the few giants of our tales;

For human, if no more creature than he,

Needs only to be seen

And seen

And seen

That is all.

And so the giants fade, and we appear,
Oh so tall

But these valleys we roam through are echoed by vibrations;

A ghost of a footstep and that is all;

Their legend now like a grain of sand, from that valley engraven

From once where they did stand.

And we journey on

And on

And on

And in silence wonder about the past;

Who once did stand above;

Who we tower over now;
Who is next to be tall;
Who is yet to fall.

Where the world will grow larger

And we become footprints in the soil.
A legend of time, of tales;
A whisper, a creak

And that is all

That is all

By: Sara H.Yates (Coggin)

Earth Blog: Lessons in the Sublime

There is a pleasure in the pathless woods; 

 There is a rapture on the lonely shore; 

There is society, where none intrudes,  

By the deep sea, and music in its roar;  

I love not man the less, but Nature more... 

 - Lord Byron

There is something fascinating about nature that draws us to it, which we see in Moby Dick. Ishmael pointedly reminds the reader that "beholding the tranquil beauty and brilliancy of the ocean's skin, one forgets the tiger heart that pants beneath it; and would not willingly remember, that this velvet paw but conceals a remorseless fang".

Though it is so easy to enter, sometimes we forget that nature is unpredictable, untamed and unstable. There have been a number of occasions in which I was left with that sublime feeling of the wonder and power of nature--that thing that made me suddenly feel small and insignificant in the big picture of things.

I remember a time that I was out in “mouth” of the inter-coastal, where it meets the ocean among the rough breakers. I was feeling powerful on the back of a jet-ski, speeding the open waters. It was our playground where everybody rode and jumped the waves. One particular wave began to curl at just the wrong time and our Jet-ski went straight up the face of the wave and we plummeted backwards. At that moment, within those few seconds, I lost sight of everything. All I could see as I tread water was the waves bobbing up and down all around in every which direction, each too high to see beyond. It was at that moment I sensed the greatness of the ocean: not knowing how deep it was beneath my dangling feet, nor how far away the shore was. As I was tossed in the waves, fretting over if I would be found, I realized how small and insignificant I was. Time seemed to slow down and my senses became uncomfortably heightened. I was fearful. It wasn't long before I was found but it took only that sharp, quick moment to get utterly lost in the wilderness of the ocean. Since, I have had a hard time going back out in it because of that penetrable moment in the oceans belly made me realize how small and vulnerable I was against the water-world.

Another experience centers around Yosemite. Every granite wall stretching thousands of feet tall, seemed to hold some kind of majestic quality. It made me feel indescribable, as if I was in a place for the supreme. Waterfalls plummeted with amazing force and grace. But what was even more humbling than seeing such beauty and awe first hand, was the recent story of 3 people going over Vernal-Falls where I  happened to get engaged 6 months before. It was an awful feeling, imagining their faces bobbing towards the edge of the 318 foot waterfall, knowing their fate had been terrifyingly sealed.

It made me realize that nature does not change for us, we are affected by nature. One persons heaven is another person's hell but the nature of the place is the same. It just reminds me that nature is unbiased and unfeeling; it will not bend just because you will it so.

When we go into nature, we should go with respect because it will impress and inspire us, but the experience we seek to have in the wild may not be what we get. I am reminded of Christopher McCandless from Into the Wild. That particular moment when he realizes the wonder of Alaska has trapped him by snow caps melting into water blockades. Then his whole mentality shifts because he is no longer venturing into nature, he is trapped in nature. He dies out there alone among the beautiful. Sublime nature is intriguing but it’s lethal, even in that captivating beauty.

Earth Blog: Anthropomorphism - "Our" Love to the Animals

On October 8th, a celebration was held for the 10th birthday of Salsa and Onca—two original jaguars at the Jacksonville Zoo. I found it interesting upon seeing this announcement how human the celebration was. Having read about anthropomorphism in Rachel Carson’s Under the Sea-Wind, I understood portraying animals through a human lens. This however, seemed to take it to another level.

The birthday invitation wrote: “The birthday 'bash' will begin with the crowd singing happy birthday at 1:00 p.m. immediately followed by the two enrichment cakes being appropriately hunted and eaten by the honorees. Guests will be served cookies, while supplies last, and can sign an enlarged birthday card.”

I’m pretty sure the Jaguars didn't care if it was their birthday but people were proud to celebrate the years they've been able to enjoy them. It made sure to mention that the Jaguars came to the zoo because they were rejected by their mother, which is certain to trigger an emotional human response. This would make people feel a parental need to care for them because their mother wouldn't. This also encourages a sense that their lives are better at the zoo.

I found the image of a large group of people singing to the animals and signing a card to celebrate them a bit comical. It was also ironic that the hiding enrichment cakes would be 'hunted'. How does a long range animal hunt in an exhibit? And not meat but 'cake'. My anthropomorphic response: a voice for the Jaguar saying, “Really guys?” Still, there is a part of me that thinks how entertaining it would be for the baby jags.

As a human myself, there is also something very sweet and cute about the whole affair. I don’t mean to sound cynical because I tend to humanize animal’s emotions a lot. I 'rescued' my cats from outdoors when one of the three in their litter died. I just refused to let it happen again and I couldn't just take one of them because I thought it would devastate the brothers to be apart, especially after loosing one sibling already. This case of anthropomorphism seemed to work in their favor though. They have no shortage of blankets or laps to cozy up on to feel safe and comfortable. Oh wait, there I go again.

There are dangers to anthropomorphism though. In an article called For Love of Nature, Jennifer Laddino discusses the premise that Grizzly Man, for example, “represents an approach to the natural world that is deeply infused with human ideals of love", an issue of bringing love to nature—and imagining nature loving us in return. The story of Grizzly man, while somehow romantically infused, doesn't end well. He spent his summer’s with bears and mistook his luck of not being attacked with their 'love'. Eventually, he was killed by one despite all his connection to the creatures.

Watch: Grizzly Man Trailer

• How does this love reflect human ideals about nature and culture?
• How is love among nonhuman animals imagined and represented?
• Does love function divisively, to further separate humans from nonhuman nature, or is love figured as a means of bridging the human–animal divide?
• And does love become yet another kind of mastery over animals, an emotional–political way to distinguish “them” from “us” (p.4)?

There are some questions to think about.

Caring about animals makes people feel good...but so does the idea that they care that you care. No-one said love was uncomplicated. So is there really so much wrong with humans gathering to celebrate a love for an animal’s life? I don't think so. Hey we are human after all and we're going to have human emotions. Even if it is a bit more for us than for them, they are still being appreciated and that is helpful in the larger psych. Especially as animals face dwindling numbers and loss of homes. But I think it is important to remember that there is a divide between the wild animal beyond tamed walls of human ideals and the caged animal, subdued by human interaction. Our human emotions project onto them because we care. But if these jaguars were in their natural habitat, I don't think people would be as keen to clasping their hands together and oohing and awing while singing birthday tunes to the big cats. Not unless they want to be the cake.

1. Interdiscip Stud Lit Environ (2009) 16 (1): 53-90. doi: 10.1093/isle/isp002. For the Love of Nature: Documenting Life, Death, and Animality in Grizzly Man and March of the Penguins. http://isle.oxfordjournals.org/content/16/1/53.full

2. Jacksonville Zoo Website (2011) Salsa & Onca’s 10th Birthday Celebration.http://ht.ly/6PoRi