! ! A R K Poem by Michael Shepherd

Such a fine morning sight –
all the species, not lining up
for extinction as they later were
but this time for preservation – a long line
patiently stretching into the distance
as far as mind could see

sometimes shifting quietly
from one leg to the other
or from four legs to three
or stretching a wing
hungry to fly – but where?

and one man blessed
radiant in his duty, awed
as that great ship expanded
a boundless mind of growing wood

and the naming…to what
did he listen, as the moo-moos
and the baa-baas and
the kraak-kraaks, bow-wows, miau-miaus
paused in front of him
for him to hear and name true nature;

the coo-coos already on the masthead;
the nightingale and song-thrush
quite unable to guess yet
at how Noah Knowall spoke their song..

and beyond the trampled mud around the gang-plank
the waters lapping audibly with
their own sacred name;
love that draws and binds and
love that flows;
here, love’s laws.