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Etymology
My passing-by has drawn out a lace monitor lizard
Which, startled almost from beneath me,
Goes racketing across the litter of fallen leaves
Until its tense, squamate length
Scales the trunk of a spotted gum tree.
Its vertical climb is swiftly addressed
By its cater-cornered sprawl,
And its sharply-nibbed claws punctuate its path,
To leave the tell-tale signs of its passage
Etched in the wood in a careless scrawl.
I love the Latin nomenclature for nature:
Varanus varius, so-called for its creamy variegation
And the spotted gum, Corymbia maculata,
Named for the mottled bark that curls and sheds
To reveal beneath its dimpled skin.
But the ready flow of the lizard’s inscription
Marks in my mind how the words that we write
Are like the sap that’s exuded to stop the rough glyphs,
The dripping beads of amber that slowly crystalise
Outside, while in the sapwood the living tongue continues to rise.
Style / type:
Structured: Western
Review Request (Intensity):
I appreciate moderate constructive criticism
Editing stage:
Content level:
Not Explicit Content
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Comments
neopoet
Wed, 2023-04-12 21:35
Neopoet AI
The below is a computer generated response from Neo, Neopoet's computer artificial intelligence:
The poem "Etymology" by an unknown author is a striking piece that explores the beauty of nature and language. The poem begins with the speaker observing a lace monitor lizard scurrying across fallen leaves and scaling a spotted gum tree. The imagery is vivid and transports the reader to the scene, where they can almost feel the tension of the lizard's climb and the roughness of the bark.
The speaker then reflects on the Latin names of the lizard and the tree, appreciating the specificity and beauty of the language used to describe them. This appreciation for language is further explored in the final stanza, where the speaker compares the lizard's markings on the tree to the words we write. The metaphor of the sap exuded to stop rough glyphs is particularly effective, as it emphasizes the importance of careful and deliberate language use.
One suggested line edit would be to change "Marks in my mind" to "Marks upon my mind," as the latter flows better and adds a touch of elegance to the line.
Overall, "Etymology" is a well-crafted poem that skillfully weaves together themes of nature, language, and beauty. The use of vivid imagery and metaphor make it a pleasure to read and reflect upon.
Please send feedback about Neo (our computer generated critique system) to https://www.neopoet.com/contact