Sunday, January 12, 2014

665 : Group Think

Sunday Whirl (Wordle #143) presents a list of words
that we must incorporate in a writing piece.  

The words this week are:
illuminates, impact, remote, scenes, storm, one,
haunt, litter, need, pool, lifeless, price

Group Think.

In the remote past,
Scenes of turmoil;
A lifeless
But turbulent place
Feels the impact,
Reels to the impact
Of Nature.
Storms
Sweep the planet;
Lightning
Fractures the sky;
Illuminates the land.
Thunder,
A deferred timpani,
Grumbles behind.
Volcanoes 
Litter the scene—
Sulphurous sores,
The weeping pores,
Of a fevered planet.
No ghosts dare
Haunt this place.


In the midst 
Of this cassoulet 
Of what has been
Lives the promise 
Of what will be.
On one afternoon
In one magical moment
In one small pool
Of warm and enriched water
Nothing happened.
But in the larger seas,
In a broader sense,
Over countless seasons,
Imperceptively,
And yet relentlessly,
Associations are made.
Different skills
Meet different needs.
Collaboration
And adaption,
The group
Outperforms
The individual.
And pays the price 
Of survival.
.
---
© J Cosmo Newbery 2014
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26 comments:

  1. This is much deeper than that small pool.

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  2. Replies
    1. Perhaps you would prefer my limerick site? :-\

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  3. Yup; "the group outperforms the individual." But don't worry; there are lots of individuals contributing to the group.

    Peace and joy, Cosmo!

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  4. In scenes of old there were turbulence that affected little groups.They clung to each other and survived somehow! Well written Cosmo!

    Hank

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  5. It's like reading little clouds containing thunder! Quite moving.

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  6. The soup of existence..the first verse was bitingly apocalyptic..the sores and heat. the second verse seemed like a solution..how to deal with such a haunting vista..rightly or wrongly..

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  7. "cassoulet"--my new word for the day--thank you!!!!!

    Litter

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  8. I thought the end was near. I wasn't very good with group projects in school, but glad this group came up with a solution!

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  9. we can hope the price is paid for survival,
    i like your approach in this, going back to go forward
    its effective....

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  10. I liked your beginning....and the outcome.

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  11. grumbles. thinking, volcano, more of a family than a group think, perhaps. Very effective

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  12. Brilliant .. and hopeful!

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  13. There's a lot to take in here! Excellent.

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  14. I'm not sure I like the group overcoming the individual, but I do love the power of the writing in this.
    Pea

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  15. I love your description of the pool!

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  16. Really like the word choice: cassoulet. It signals the coming of order, proper or not. The price or cost of survival.

    Elizabeth

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  17. The last five lines of the first stanza are powerful lines.

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  18. A wonderful write! I especially love the first stanza, describing events on the planet. And "no ghosts dare haunt this place" is perfection.

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  19. was it Spock who opined, the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one? ~

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  20. Love the amazing active verbs turbulent in the first stanza changing to imperceptible movement ad verbs of stasis in the second. Survival depends on groups willing to hold on to each other.

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  21. Now this was really beautiful and powerful too.

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  22. Evolution is not about the individual it is always about the group/species. I enjoyed reading this and thinking about it.

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  23. Wow!! This is both beautiful and thought provoking.

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