It Is A Sin To Kill A Quetzal

Cherry

By onemorething

Wed, 25 Aug 2021
  • 2369 reads
13 comments
 

It is a sin to kill a quetzal,

at least when gods were made

of air and bird, of serpents and rams,

but the wind blows now,

in a different direction.

 

I have tasted the words

of gods and they are bitter,

and I have wondered why

we have all these deities

without ever learning to be good. 
 

But I am superstitious;

I straighten cutlery,

I pick up pennies,

I count in threes. 
 

It is a sin to kill a quetzal,

but you can take their tail-feathers,

quetzalli, steal their whistle from nests,

the high secrets of canopies, echos

of a cloud forest. 
 

Here, two sky blue eggs

break to be resplendent 

in emerald and blood,

children of moss and lichen,

children of mist, uncaged.

 

And I am superstitious;

I do not crack mirrors,

I snap wishbones, 

I knock on wood. 
 

But I will not pray to idols,

it is said that a quetzal will take

its own life behind bars - this bird

of priests and raptures will not breathe

amongst human artefacts of pain. 

 

Image is from here: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cloud_forest_mount_kinabalu.jpg

 

Image of a quetzal: https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Respledent_Quetzal,_Costa_Rica_2016.jpg#mw-jump-to-license
Video of a quetzal: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aEELnTu8A-w

 

Certificate 12
Poem
Unclassified

Comments

Submitted by marandina on

Amazing poem. Lots of my favourite elements like superstition and legend. This is great :)

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks Paul, they're fascinating birds with lots of connection to mythology. :)

 

Submitted by Penny4athought on

The Resplendent Quetzal can not survive being caged, can only live free, as all should. There is so much to interpret here, so much to question. I love the journey through your superstitions, your distrust of gods and their teachings, to follow, or not. This walk along your periphery of thought, with this legend bird and its myth, provokes the reader to delve into the meanings here and take away what perception they will, and I loved it.smiley

Penny4athought

Submitted by onemorething on

So happy you liked it, Penny. Such beautiful birds. :)

 

Submitted by Mark Burrow on

That second stanza is wonderful, but then so is the whole poem. Beautiful work. 

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks Mark, glad you enjoyed it. :) 

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

they are so BEAUTIFUL! I had never heard of them, those COLOURS! It seems specisist to me, that it might be a sin to kill one kind of bird but fine to eat another, however there must be something so wrong with a person to want to destroy such richness that they must be cursed in some way to start with

Your poem made me think of those religions that forbid colours

and in medieval times when only rich people could have bright clothes, and there would be stained glass windows in church. But outside there were wildflowers everywhere, berries, free

But also, how it is a sin to kill them directly but fine to do it sideways, by destroying their habitat, stealing their eggs, or mulitlating them. Rather like how the original message of treat your neighbour as yourself somehow ended up as less important than just about everything else

I should not think they would want to be prayed to. But to have this wonderful poem written about them, and awareness raised, I bet they would like that very much!

 

 

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Aren't they. They are richly beautiful. They are susceptible to being captured, apart from anything they are not great flyers, but their demise is largely as a result of habitat loss - as for so many species. Thank you for your comment about being prayed to - I briefly considered that a reader might think I meant pray to the birds when I meant gods - I was lazy and left it. Have changed it now - so thank you! I'm really happy you liked it. :)

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

Ah, did wonder about that, they are a great advert for a Creator though, aren't they? Would be easy to think of how amazing a Creator must be, when thinking of those colours :0) The thing is, idols are man made, second hand gods, and birds aren't, they're part of the source, so praying to them would be closer in a way I guess.

Am very grateful to have seen their picture! All the CGI there is these days and Nature will always be more beautiful, amazing - our imagination can never match what is here despite us

 

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Never heard of these birds before Rachel, but love their beautiful colours like they're dressed to impress. I think Di summed up your poem. I also agree with Paul, you covered elements of superstition really well too.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks Jenny. They are certainly dressed to impress. Beauties. I'm glad you enjoyed it. :) 

 

Submitted by Insertponceyfre... on

This is wonderful onemore - and thank you also for sending me down a fascinating rabbithole with this beautiful bird - like Di, I'd never heard of it before. what a legacy of mythology to have as a species!

I think this is one of your best - thank you so much for posting it

 

Submitted by onemorething on

Thanks insert! They are gorgeous creatures, it's not a surprise that they figure in mythology. And living in cloud forests too, draped in moss - all poetry in itself. Very happy you liked it. :)