Poem: "New Eden"

[ysabetwordsmith]

This poem came out of the September 6, 2011 Poetry Fishbowl.  It was inspired by prompts from moonwolf1988 and my_partner_doug.  It was sponsored by Shirley and Anthony Barrette.  This poem is set in my main science fiction universe and relates the fate of one of its many colonies.

New Eden

The colonists left Earth
because they did not like
"nature red in tooth and claw."

They wanted to make a fresh start
in a new, green world
with no killing in it.

They brought along their crops,
and some beneficial insects,
but not the pests.

They brought along pets and livestock,
but only the herbivores,
not the carnivores or omnivores.

The terraforming worked
and the colonists populated the planet
with all the good things they had brought.

For a time, everything went well,
but then they began to notice
a flaw here, an imbalance there.

They wondered what could have gone wrong,
when after all, they had left
the pests and parasites back on Earth.

Some crops flourished
and began to act like weeds,
while others withered away.

The herbivores escaped,
devouring fields and gardens,
numbers exploding only to crash later.

Then the human population
suffered the same fate,
bodies dwindling, birth rate dropping.

When the archaeologists later discovered
the failed colony, they declared the cause of death:
unnatural selection.

Comments

[fayanora.livejournal.com]

Good one! Those silly colonists.

I'm reminded of a line from an old poem of mine: "The pyre of death, where all lay to rest, is the dinnerplate of Life."

Thank you!

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>Good one! Those silly colonists.<<

Yep. Not all my colonists were smart. That's historically accurate -- some people who sailed to colonies on Earth were outright loons.

>>I'm reminded of a line from an old poem of mine: "The pyre of death, where all lay to rest, is the dinnerplate of Life."<<

*laugh* I love it. That is so very true.

I have a big pile of wood chips in my yard for mulch. Despite being made of dead stuff, it is the livingest place the yard. There's a whole little detritus food chain in there: microbes, fungi, sowbugs, earthworms, centipedes, beetles, toads, etc. It's just amazing to watch.

Re: Thank you!

[fayanora.livejournal.com]

I have a planet in the Mindeodean storyverse where two colony groups landed on the same planet (because one of them got to their own system, only to find that there weren't any habitable planets there.) There was plenty of room for both groups to coexist peacefully, but they warred with each other. One group created genetically engineered supersoldiers that eat human flesh. These soldiers rebeled, and conquered both groups. The descendants of both groups have been bred to be like cattle for these soldiers.

O_O

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

That's very poetic justice.

Re: O_O

[fayanora.livejournal.com]

Yes. Though the soldier race is a bit of a problem, as they keep going to other planets looking for fresh blood to add to their herds.

[lupabitch.livejournal.com]

Open a niche, and something will fill it.

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Precisely.

I figure these folks didn't know what happens if you put, say, a pair of finches on a tropical island. In a surprisingly short time, they diversify and you start getting fruit-eaters and insect-eaters from a species that used be strictly seed-eaters. Never forget about Mother Nature's junk drawer -- the genes are in there.

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

Oh, I love it! Nature is in balance with carnivores and herbivores. Even if I don't like hornets. (they can live out there *gestures*)

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>Oh, I love it! Nature is in balance with carnivores and herbivores.<<

Sooth.

>> Even if I don't like hornets. (they can live out there *gestures*) <<

I don't like hornets. I dislike mosquitoes and ticks even more. I might fantasize about obliterating them, but I wouldn't actually do it. It would be like unscrewing a random bolt on an airplane while flying in it. I'd be too worried that removing that one piece would make something vital come loose and send the whole thing down in a blaze of inglory. That's why extinctions make me so edgy.

Re: Thoughts

[lilfluff.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't mind when the little lizards slip in the apartment. But my deal with the rest of the creepy crawlies is simple. Stay outside and I'll leave them alone. Come inside and I make no promises.

It's weird. In third grade I freaked out my classmates by getting a book of insects from the school library and making as good a clay roach as I could. I thought it was the most awesome thing I ever made. Now when I see a roach all I can think is, "BAD!BAD!EVILBUG!KILL!DRIVEITAWAY!"

And I'm very thankful I'm not in one of the neighborhoods with a serious scorpion issue. *shiver*

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>But my deal with the rest of the creepy crawlies is simple. Stay outside and I'll leave them alone. Come inside and I make no promises.<<

My rules are approximately:

Outside away from human-high-traffic areas such as the patio, I consider wildlife to have the right-of-way. I will only kill things that make a direct nuisance of themselves, such as trying to bite me. So mosquitoes get summarily slapped and told, "Better luck next life."

Indoors is human territory where wildlife does not belong. Anything may be removed or slain as I see fit (and this is my job in our household). Beneficials are usually scooped up and relocated outdoors. Vermin and biting/stinging species get slain and told, "Better luck next life."

>>In third grade I freaked out my classmates by getting a book of insects from the school library and making as good a clay roach as I could. I thought it was the most awesome thing I ever made. <<

You kinda have to admire something that can live for two weeks after decapitation.

>>And I'm very thankful I'm not in one of the neighborhoods with a serious scorpion issue. *shiver*<<

Yeah that would suck.