Maternal Instinct
We aren't so different after all.18 total reviews
Comment from w.j.debi
Yes, I believe we are closer to our animal friends than we care to admit. They feel the same emotions, which if we watch closely, we will recognize quickly.
Excellent exploration of the mother gorilla's sorrow and the grief of the passing of her little one.
reply by the author on 22-Aug-2023
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Yes, I believe we are closer to our animal friends than we care to admit. They feel the same emotions, which if we watch closely, we will recognize quickly.
Excellent exploration of the mother gorilla's sorrow and the grief of the passing of her little one.
Comment Written 22-Aug-2023
reply by the author on 22-Aug-2023
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Thanks so much for reading.
Comment from Faith Williams
It's interesting how similar they grieve. I particularly thought your image of the Mother Gorilla in the first stanza was touching. Thank you for sharing, Heather.
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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It's interesting how similar they grieve. I particularly thought your image of the Mother Gorilla in the first stanza was touching. Thank you for sharing, Heather.
Comment Written 21-Aug-2023
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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Thank YOU for reading. x
Comment from Pearl Edwards
This is a beautiful tale of a mother's love and then her grief. No, aren't much different. Family is important in the animal kingdom as it is in ours. I loved this one Heather, and wish you well in the contest. Cheers
Valda
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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This is a beautiful tale of a mother's love and then her grief. No, aren't much different. Family is important in the animal kingdom as it is in ours. I loved this one Heather, and wish you well in the contest. Cheers
Valda
Comment Written 21-Aug-2023
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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Thanks, Valda. You're always very generous in your reviews.
This poem is very important to me as it's a metaphor about something that has just happened to a fellow parishioner: a month ago her son became ill with Covid and today he's passed away.
We knew it was going to happen, but all the same it's heartbreaking. Besides, she's a widow and has no more kids.
I hope you are doing well. xxx
Comment from dragonpoet
Hi Heather,
This free verse is full of strong imagery and emotion. It shows how much the mother gorilla loved and still loves her dead baby. I couldn't imagine carrying a dead baby around with you. It is probably why the leader didn't like it. It also shows your faith.
Keep writing and stay healthy.
Good luck in the contest.
Enjoy the rest or your evening.
Joan
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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Hi Heather,
This free verse is full of strong imagery and emotion. It shows how much the mother gorilla loved and still loves her dead baby. I couldn't imagine carrying a dead baby around with you. It is probably why the leader didn't like it. It also shows your faith.
Keep writing and stay healthy.
Good luck in the contest.
Enjoy the rest or your evening.
Joan
Comment Written 21-Aug-2023
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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Hi Joan,
I wrote this poem as a metaphor. Today a fellow parishioner lost her only son to Covid and, to make matters worse, she's a widow.
Life can be tough sometimes.
Take care of yourself.xxx
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I am glad it is biographical but I do feel for your fellow parishioner, Yes it can.
You too.
Joan
Comment from patcelaw
I think the maternal instinct has been put into all of nature, not only in humans, but also in the animal life as well. I think we see this happen more than we really know. This is a very good poem, and I wish you the very best in the contest, or with your writing.
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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I think the maternal instinct has been put into all of nature, not only in humans, but also in the animal life as well. I think we see this happen more than we really know. This is a very good poem, and I wish you the very best in the contest, or with your writing.
Comment Written 21-Aug-2023
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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Thanks so much, Patricia, for your kind review. x
Comment from Gypsy Blue Rose
her head touches the ground in sorrow...the trees hide the sun..... so well put, great imagery of the mother's grief.
I was thinking about the Tarzan movie, the gorilla mom cared for the human baby as if it was her own. Maternal ties can't be undone.
beautiful poem, well done :)
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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her head touches the ground in sorrow...the trees hide the sun..... so well put, great imagery of the mother's grief.
I was thinking about the Tarzan movie, the gorilla mom cared for the human baby as if it was her own. Maternal ties can't be undone.
beautiful poem, well done :)
Comment Written 21-Aug-2023
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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Thanks so much, Marival.
I wrote this yesterday as a metaphor for both Manuel and his mum who must be heartbroken right now, as he's passed away today. x
Comment from Dolly'sPoems
This is a fascinating write Heather. I watched the video and it was sad but also endearing how the Mother kept her dead infant with her despite her body decomposing and how the group were not put off by the smell but just accepted it because the infant was once a part of the group. Your words are subtle and gentle and I think we can learn something from these Chimpanzees. Maybe we bury our dead too quickly mainly because of higiene reasons and keeping the body near helps with the grieving process. I know this is not possible in human life, but it does make you wonder that ridding ourselves of the corpse so quickly causes us to mourn for longer. I loved your unusual and inventive post Heather, love Dolly x x x
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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This is a fascinating write Heather. I watched the video and it was sad but also endearing how the Mother kept her dead infant with her despite her body decomposing and how the group were not put off by the smell but just accepted it because the infant was once a part of the group. Your words are subtle and gentle and I think we can learn something from these Chimpanzees. Maybe we bury our dead too quickly mainly because of higiene reasons and keeping the body near helps with the grieving process. I know this is not possible in human life, but it does make you wonder that ridding ourselves of the corpse so quickly causes us to mourn for longer. I loved your unusual and inventive post Heather, love Dolly x x x
Comment Written 21-Aug-2023
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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When one of my English friends died, she wasn't cremated until fifteen days had passed. I thought that was the done thing all over England. Here in Spain I guess we do it very fast because of the weather. Nowadays it's not necessary, but I guess it's a tradition.
Thanks for reading and for your review.x
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There are laws in Tenerife that prevent the delay of either burial or cremation. Even if the relatives live abroad the body will be cremated within so many days whether the relatives have arrived or not. We we take our time of burial and my husband wasn?t buried for 3 weeks because we needed permission to open an existing grave and there was a lot of red tape over it x x x
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It's never a nice thing to deal with. Apart from grieving you have take care of all the red tape.
I think the laws you mention apply to the whole of Spain. x
Comment from Lisasview
What a lovely subject matter to write a wonderful poem about. My husband love Documentaries of Chimpanzees...They are so caring and attentive.
I am so saddened to watch the informative video you sent.
I am going to show this to my husband.
Your poem is wonderful...
Thank you for sharing,
Lisa
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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What a lovely subject matter to write a wonderful poem about. My husband love Documentaries of Chimpanzees...They are so caring and attentive.
I am so saddened to watch the informative video you sent.
I am going to show this to my husband.
Your poem is wonderful...
Thank you for sharing,
Lisa
Comment Written 21-Aug-2023
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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The video is heartbreaking.
I wrote this because I needed to release some of the sadness I'm feeling at the moment. A month ago, more or less, a young man I've known ever since he was little, became sick with Covid. Today he's passed away and yesterday, we already knew his organs had shut down. His mum is a widow and has no more children so I can't stop thinking about her.
Tomorrow there will be a funeral mass and I'm not looking forward to it.
Thanks for your kind review, Lisa.
Comment from Mintybee
This poem about grief is touching and sad. It elicits empathy for the loss of others, and allows for reflection on personal loss. I think this is a great entry for the no rules poetry contest.
Mintybee
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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This poem about grief is touching and sad. It elicits empathy for the loss of others, and allows for reflection on personal loss. I think this is a great entry for the no rules poetry contest.
Mintybee
Comment Written 21-Aug-2023
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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The poem is dedicated to a fellow parishioner whose twenty-something-year-old son has died today. Yesterday we already knew this was going to happen, but it's heartbreaking all the same.
Thanks so much for reading.x
Comment from JSD
Not just sad, it's blooming heartbreaking. Horrible to read. Your free verse is ably managed to tell this story and bring such contrasts/similarities with human behaviour to light.
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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Not just sad, it's blooming heartbreaking. Horrible to read. Your free verse is ably managed to tell this story and bring such contrasts/similarities with human behaviour to light.
Comment Written 21-Aug-2023
reply by the author on 21-Aug-2023
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I'm sorry this made you feel sad. It's how I was feeling yesterday and even more so today.
The poem is dedicated to a fellow parishioner whose twenty-something-year-old son has died today. Yesterday we already knew this was going to happen, but it's heartbreaking all the same.
Thanks so much for reading.
