DUAL PERSPECTIVES: Haiku and Prose

Wildlife and Habitat's Edge

Haiku expressing the essence of endangered species in their natural habitats. Prose expressing perspectives of wild animals and human encroachment of their natural habitats.

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"HANGUL"

Political strife the deluge of encroachment squeezed alpine meadows Woods of Dachigam the last strip of forest home lair for voiceless beasts. A handful of deer HANGUL, the rare Kashmir stag in last resort left. © RAFIYA SAYEED Jammu/Kashmir, India

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"HAIKU STRING"

The human madness in name of development deforestation deforestation endangering the wildlife leaves no habitat without habitat confused wildlife go astray helpless they encroach civil area fall prey in the encounter with enraged humans the rare species like the South Asian elephant are on the extinct © SUBHASHCHANDRA ADHAV India

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"SAVE THE WHALES"

Nowhere to escape micro plastic pollution Whales lie pale on shores © KRISTY RAINES USA

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"A HAMSTER'S PERPSECTIVE"

Once I used to feel the clean earth underneath my small pink paws and I used my stealth to forage for nutritious food in a vegetable garden or an orchard. Humans used to live in harmony with nature, especially with my kind. But fate seemed to have other plans and I found out later on.

Man is under a dark spell that turned him into a greedy fellow who will do everything to gain more wealth without caring about the consequences of his actions. The once utopian life is gone; my kind lives in fear, being always on the run. My home becomes smaller as men conquer it, believing themselves as mightier than Mother Nature, herself.

Tears run down my little eyes every time I witness the destruction and despair in my surroundings and my heart is struck with grief as I mourn the loss of the innocent souls that perished either by accidentally getting entangled in a piece of trash or by the poisons sprayed on them by men that consider them pests. I try to be brave and set up a good example to the future hamster generations, but I can't help it, sometimes. Certain scenes are too painful, even for the lion-hearted.

"Will I ever see the sun again? Will the beautiful fragrance of fruit trees and wildflowers please my little nose again? Will I ever hear nature's symphony instead of the noise of chaos? Will I regain what Mother Nature has given to me and my kind?" These are the questions that I don't know if I'll receive an answer to, but with a pinch of courage and wisdom, and ray of hope, I have a feeling that my kind will survive, especially since the wind whispers in my ear every day about the attempts of a group of kind souls to help us regain our home, so that we won't become extinct.

POET'S NOTE: The text is a story from a Romanian hamster's perspective. The Romanian hamster or Dobrudja hamster is a species of rodents found in Bulgaria and Romania.

© GHEORGHE LAURA

Romania

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Hunting lives as prey

The most felt hurtful process

For the sake of fame

© BOGDANA GAGEANU Romania

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"WINGS OF SORROW"

I stretch my patagia, leathery wings unfolding like a brown cloak, and soar above my dwindling kingdom. Once, lush forests of Narra, Molave and other native trees that stretched towards the sky, providing endless glades for my kind to dance upon sunbeams. Now, barren hills scar the horizon.

I glide over stumps, remnants of giants cut down by two-legged invaders. Their strange, loud beasts tore through our home, leaving devastation. My scales prickled with fear as I witness families like mine - Philippine flying lizards - displaced, struggling to survive.

One last sentinel remains - a majestic, almost 500-year old Narra tree, its gnarled trunk twisted with age and wisdom. Yellow markings deface its ancient skin - a death sentence scribbled by the invaders. My heart sinks. This was where my mate, Malaya, laid our eggs last season. Where will our young ones hide now?

The Narra tree seems to mourn with me, its leaves and branches swaying slowly - a requiem dance in the gentle breeze. It waves sadly, as if bidding farewell to our world. I imagine hearing whispers on the wind: "Farewell, little one...my roots have seen centuries rise and fall...and soon, my existence will crumble and only fragmented memories will remain."

I land on a branch, claws gripping tight, and survey the ravaged landscape. Tears prick at my eyes - a lizard's sorrow. Will anyone hear our silent screams before our world disappears?

As sunset paints the horizon orange, I spread my wings once more, flying towards the fading light - towards a future uncertain. The Narra tree's faint whisper seems to carry on the wind: "Fly away, little one. Carry our will and ignite our hope. Go and live!"

© JEFFREY CEJERO

Philippines

Two-photo slideshow of Jeffrey Cejero and lizard. Hit

the arrow to the right of the photo, to view the next image.

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"SERIES OF ENDANGERED SPECIES HAIKU"

AMUR LEOPARD silent, amber eyes - snowfall veils the last footprints ghost of the forest JAVAN RHINO river reeds whisper ancient horn skims the water - a world shrinking fast VAQUITA (Porpoise) silver arc rising a breath in the empty sea - vanishing ripple HAWKSBILL TURTLE tides braid shifting sand soft shells dream beneath the stars -

nets drift, waiting still

MOUNTAIN GORILLA

mist crowns the green hills

hands like ours grasp broken twigs - silent eyes implore

SNOW LEOPARD

in the highland mist silent paws leave no footprint - a shadow in snow

ORANGUTAN

red fur in treetop wise eyes ponder forest's fate - branches bend with time

AMUR TIGER

stripes blend with birch trees

a hunter's breath fogs the air -

forests hold their king

BLUE WHALE

beneath the wave's song the ocean's heart beats slowly - giant shadows glide

POLAR BEAR

while on endless white paws tread where ice meets the sea - solitude reigns here

GALAPAGOS TORTOISE ancient shells crawl slow islands cradle their journey - time moves with each step

ANDEAN CONDOR

wings spread against sky mountains echo with their calls -

lords of the high winds

CHEETAH

spots blur into speed the chase ends as dawn breaks gold - grasslands whisper tales BORNEO PYGMY ELEPHANT

gentle giants roam,

small ears flap under dense canopies -

island's secret kept

© CONCETTA PIPIA

U.S.

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"DEMONIC CREATURES"

It was a hot summer afternoon and we were enjoying our lunch under a tree, near our resort, in a green forest. While the music was on, suddenly a tiger appeared from nowhere! Few joined him and surrounded our bus! We couldn't move an inch! It was evening, getting darker! Our heartbeat could be heard by us! Hissing sounds were heard from a branch.

As we were feeling hellish, one of the tigers standing on the rock said, "Why did you invade our habitat without permission? Shall we cage all of you? You demonic creatures, weren't convinced by destroying our trees? You burnt our forests with animals, alive! Few species have become extinct and we are endangered! Don't you have some common sense to protect us and balance nature? You humans are the worst species who're destroying the earth through your skilled brain! We could've killed you but we aren't greedy like you! Get some oxygen and go away, as we have spared you!!!"

Wiping my sweat, I wanted to escape but couldn't!

Can't believe it was just a dream!

© SONAL RAO

INDIA

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"LET THEM BE" Wildlife's sacred space leave them be, let them thrive free Earth's delicate dance!

© SHAMPA SAHA

India

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"WHY IS THERE AN ORANGUTAN ON THE ELECTRIC POLE"

A loud thud startled the few remaining Orangutans in the middle of the thinning jungles of Borneo and Sumatra. The crash shook the tall tree that was made a home by a family of these endemic mammals.

"What was that, Dad?", a juvenile Orangutan asked his father, half-asleep and scared at the early morning commotion.

"It was the house of the Chieftain," his father quipped, referring to the century-old tree that had fallen not far from the one they were staying in and called it a home.

The lull of the crash was suddenly followed by the familiar roar referred to by these forest dwellers as the 'machine' - a mechanical saw operated by a chain that ripped through the bodies of once pristine tall trees in the jungles of this Southeastern Asian country.

"It's the outsiders again," referring to the people with the chainsaws. "They are operating the machine again, his dad uttered with a sigh of frustration and pain.

"But Dad, they are almost near our house, we can feel now, the breaking of branches and twigs near us, maybe in a day or two they can clean the area and would probably hit us home", the juvenile Orangutan pleaded for explanation and comfort.

"What can we do son, what can we do?" the elder Orangutan muttered, almost a whisper of defeat. "I will go down to the city, I will talk to the machine owner so that they will stop what they are doing or else we will lose our home soon", suddenly burst the juvenile Orangutan.

"Don't you ever think about it, his father raised his voice. Enough already to what happened to your brother", 'Lerma', calling his wife, "Watch over your stupid son, he's talking nonsense again just like his brother, the elder Orangutan shouted as he hastily slid down to the branch of the nearby tree.

The whole day was dominated by the whirring of distant machines, alternated by loud crashes by the fallen bodies of big trees that once stood up in the jungle. Leo crouched in one corner of their tree looking at the distant skyline.

When the night came, darkness covered the entire horizon. Nocturnal dwellers of the jungle started to do their things. Hisses and hoots were now eerily dominating the sacred silence of the night in the jungle. Somewhere in one of the few remaining trees, a creature was not asleep. It was Leo, he had a plan, and would execute it when he was sure that everyone in the family was in deep slumber.

He climbed down carefully from their tree so as not to make even a small noise. Like a seasoned kind of his clan, he hit the ground of the forest without being detected.

He carefully made his steps, a mix of running and crawling, jumping and stooping along the bushes and undergrowth of the forest, passing through the clearing and fallen trees eaten up by the machine during the day. His heart is racing, his blood pumping like his ancestors when they once owned the jungle. It was their heaven, an abode for their kind but now threatened to be wiped out permanently.

He followed vehicle tracks in the covering of the pale moon above, down to the highway. It was the first time he ever set foot in the place. He cannot see their tree anymore, he is very far away from his home, but he is not afraid because he has a mission to fulfill in his heart. He will save his house and his family from the Outsiders.

At the first ray of early sunlight on the outskirts of the city, he could see the tall buildings and hear the distant traffic rumbling in the center of the city. Which building should he go to? How could he find the machine owner? Where are the other Outsiders living in the city?

He bravely took his steps along the sidewalk. The speed of the moving vehicles in front would almost knock him down on the pavement. He cannot distinguish the Outsiders now, there are too many and all of them just look the same. But he is not deterred, he summoned his strength from the blood of his ancestors; he is a warrior, a proud dweller of the jungle. With his newfound strength and determination, he made a burst of dash like the old warrior of the jungle.

He came to a clearing, and suddenly stopped at the side of the concrete pool. It's the city plaza, the fountains were off in the morning, and he saw water. He never felt so thirsty during his long journey, until he saw water in the pool. He bent over to scoop this precious liquid he saw in his palm and place it in his mouth. He threw up by the pungent smell of the liquid, it was black and slimy, of algae.

That moment, a small kid saw him by the pool, tucked in his father's hand with a backpack, the kid had a morning class to catch up. "Look, there's a monkey in the pool", the little boy pulled his father's hand. Instantly, the father released the kid's hand and acts to duck as if grabbing something on the ground. "There's a beast here, there's a beast, help, help".

At that moment, Leo, the juvenile Orangutan from the jungles of Borneo and Sumatra, was startled by the sudden turn of events. He was surprised and, for the first time, so scared by the close encounter of the Outsiders. He pleaded, opened his arms, and tried to speak.

"Please, I don't want to harm you, there is a big misunderstanding here. I want to go to the machine owner, I want to talk to him. I am saving our houses, the tall tree in the forest, they are almost there to cut it, and if they do, we will lose our home and we all gonna die, please listen to me, I don't want to harm you or anybody else."

But his pleading and supplication fall on deaf ears, they all don't understand him. All the Outsiders could hear were growls and hisses from his mouth. He is a beast from the forest. He became the 'outsider' right in the middle of the city.

Suddenly, a hard object hits his back that almost knocks him into the pool. As he turned, he saw a crowd of Outsiders holding sticks in their hands of various sizes and lengths. The outsiders were carrying stones in their hands and they shouted almost in chorus, "It's a beast coming from the forest, let's kill it."

In the jungle, Lerma, the mother Orangutan, woke up earlier than usual. As a routine, she always peeks at the branch where her son Leo, would sleep, before anything else. She was shaking when she saw that Leo was no longer there.

"Gadon", she called her husband, "Our son Leo is gone," she burst into fear and with a mother's anguish kind of wailing.

After hearing this, Gadon jumped to his feet and swung without hesitation from tree to tree. At the back of his mind, he will find his son. He will bring him back home, to the jungle, to their tree. He knows the shortest way to the city. He is sure that he can reach before it's too late. He will do everything to protect his son and his family.

Gadon finds the outskirts of the city, quickly. He saw the city skyline and the early morning rush hour was screeching on the pavement. "Where are you, Leo, my son, where are you", he said in between his heavy breathing. "I will find you, I can bring you back home, to our tree."

Just when Gadon was about to cross to the other side of the highway, a speeding BMW caught him right at his body, sending him a few meters away on the side of the road, landing him head first in the concrete pavement.

The BMW swiveled at the barrier by its side, Gadon lying on the pavement gasping for breath. He is numb and almost unconscious. His vision was blurred but he was sure that it was the distant skyscrapers dominating the horizon. He took his final breath and uttered a faint voice, "Leo, my son, let's go home, to our tree."

At the plaza, Leo is overwhelmed by the sudden influx of people armed with sticks and stones, whose only purpose is to kill the beast from the jungle. He glanced at the surroundings but could not find a tree to climb. He is panicking now because the crowd is closing in and almost encircling him.

He summoned his last strength suddenly to the nearest standing object. There are no trees in the plaza, it's not the same as his home in the forest. He saw the tallest object he could find, an electricity pole standing just at the side of the concrete pavement of the city plaza. He has no choice and he climbs it. He is at the top, the sticks cannot reach him. This time the crowd uses the stones. Big and small, they throw everything in his direction. He ducks and swings on the wire, and some of the rocks thrown, hit where he planted his feet.

The crowd below now swelled in numbers. They are in a frenzy to kill the monkey from the jungle. Leo at the top of the pole, is pleading, "Please don't hurt me, I wanna go home now, I don't want to see the owner of the machine anymore, please let me go home, my mom and my dad are all worried for me now, they are looking for me now."

But the crowd below doesn't understand him, NO ONE would like to understand him. For them, he is the Outsider, a beast from the jungle and he should be killed.

That moment, a loud bang echoed in the air. It was a gunshot, somebody in the crowd had a gun. Leo, the juvenile Orangutan, felt a searing pain that almost detached his thigh from his body. He was hit by the bullet fired from the gun. He could fall but clasped his shaking hands to the bundle of wires crisscrossing at the pole. He felt a very excruciating pain in his wound, blood started to drip down on the concrete pavement.

He remembered his home, the tall trees, and the fresh air in the jungle. The warm love of his mother and the strong arms of his dad that always protected him. Now he is far from any comfort, he is in the middle of the city, with a fatal gunshot wound.

Tears began to roll down from his eyes and started to cry, "I'm sorry Mom, I can't save you anymore. Dad, I'm so sorry, if only I listened to you. I can't be home now or see the forest anymore."

It was dusk, but Lerma was still waiting outside their tree. She can't stop the welling of tears in her eyes while gazing at the faraway distance. Gadon her husband, is gone and her son is not yet home at this hour. She's afraid that they may not be able to come home tonight.

What happened to us? She whispered, what happened to the forest? What happened to our HOME...

© FLOYD GALE CABUS

Philippines

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"WRITHES"

The birds will not sing

They howl, screech in pain seeing

Their world jeopardized.

© Sheila Ann Packirnathan Malaysia