Bwindi #SOLC18 #PoetryFriday

A Slice of Life/Poetry Friday mashup for today!

On Wednesday, February 21 it was my turn to provide a piece of artwork for Laura Shovan’s Annual February Daily Poetry Project. (To learn more, click here.) While several pieces were in the running, I decided to go with something unique — a charcoal carving of a mother gorilla with her baby clinging to her back. This is a treasured souvenir from my Ugandan adventure in 2010. I traveled with a group of educators to “the Pearl of Africa” to work with a collaborative of schools surrounding the Kibale Forest, known for it’s population of chimpanzees. During the week prior to our arrival in the district, my colleagues and I explored a bit, including a game drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park and a morning of gorilla trekking in Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a UNESCO Natural World Heritage Site. Taking approximately 4 hours from start to finish, this was the most physically demanding and mentally challenging hike I have ever attempted. While absolutely terrified at the time, the 60 minutes we were allowed in the presence of these amazing creatures was an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything.

Outside the park there are many villagers who make their living selling hand-crafted souvenirs to tourists. In some cases, they sell wares made from found or scavenged materials — beads rolled from recycled paper, bowls carved from wood, baskets woven from straw.  I originally set out to tell the story of the creation of the gorilla mother and child, but it evolved into a story of existence and survival.

On a lark I Googled “Bwindi + poetry” out of curiosity. Here’s what I found. A lovely poem by Philip Wells published on Poetry Magazines in the UK in 1999.

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Bwindi.     Bwindi.

It means “the place of darkness”.
An impenetrable forest of night,
The black hole at the core
Of the heart of darkness.
Bwindi.     Bwindi.

Sun turns on the white mist
In the forest mountain dawn.
Silent walkers stride purposefully
Along a rare path –
Path of a thousand machetes,
A path with a heart, to the heart –
To the eyes of the silverback
And the simple secret of ourselves.

Moss has settled on the dangling
Parabola of a vine –
Green settles down with green.
The world is a root and a trunk
And we listen to the sap beating
To the rhythm of the morning. (read the rest here.)

 

And yet another

Uganda by Nadia Glasner

When in Uganda
you must stop to see
monkey’s living within the trees.

Treking through the Bwindi Forest
Look high and low
Keeping your eye’s and ear’s open
for you never know
what lies within the forest. (You may read the rest here.)

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This post is part of the annual month-long Slice of Life writing challenge organized by Two Writing Teachers. Join us! It’s my second year of Slicing in the challenge. (If you want to take a peek at the Padlet of writing ideas I’ve created, I’m happy to share. Click here! It grows every day.) And it’s Poetry Friday, too. Woo hoo! The amazing Renee LaTulippe is hosting over at No Water River. I hope you’ll stop by there as well.