Poem ‘Chicxulub’

Chicxulub

I may never get to the Yucatan
to touch the KT boundary at its thickest

that iridium layer exposed
like a line of fat in the tastiest bacon

yet this was where the asteroid slammed,
when the dinosaurs were fried

atomised or blasted by the wind;
when Cretaceous gave way to Tertiary

and little shrews crawled out
into a scene like a nuclear winter.

Chicxulub— how the strange name grates
like the sound of the still ringing earth.

Merely saying it, I get a sense of deja vu,
like a sudden blinding flash

where I glimpse the endless burials
high on the mountain of Kailash

screened on some future sky

image and poem © copyright dfbarker 2012
painting clearly not of Chicxulub but of a scene much nearer to home, namely Hunstanton, where there is at least visible strata in the cliffs.

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25 thoughts on “Poem ‘Chicxulub’”

Hi David

It might happen again… that feeling is, what this poem tells me.
Hunstanton or Chicxulub, lovely painting as ever! 🙂

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Thank you Ina! Hope you are well. Yes, it will happen at some stage, I’m grateful for your comments.

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Hi David

This is a great poem and I love the line

“that iridium layer exposed
like a line of fat in the tastiest bacon”

but it scares me too!!!! 🙂

Christine

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Wow – what feeling in this poem! Lovely painting also.

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DF, your painting beautifully lifts the eye to the cliffs and then up to the memories of long-dead creatures sending up their spirits still to remind us, always remind us. Your poem matches the painting perfectly, as usual.

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My brother in law is from Yucatan,
he has told me many stories.
This poem takes me there
reminding me all things pass
yet such beauty arises from the ash
although the painting isn’t of that place
it has a brilliant color across the cliffs
Perfect!

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Your poem invoked “a sense of deja vu” in me, David. We forget what this planet has been through… and what it will no doubt go through again.

(You also made me want to travel to the Yucatan and view this place myself – but like you, I probably never will.)

Beautiful painting!

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You are nothing if not a very versatile poet! I loved the imagery…”like a line of fat in the tastiest bacon”–perfect visual! I love the colors in the painting, as well. Debra

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