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There are many great warriors
and the tales about them
are about the steel
 
the shiny metal dragons flying separating the wood
grey metal whales cleaving the sea
those steel armadillos dissevering the enemy.
 
There are many great renditions
about the brave, who once having been fearful,
became fearless, facing enemies with found courage.
 
My Father was one of them.
 
He flew the steel dragons dropping from the sky
inside God’s Bubble making the ground shake
and those on it afraid of the fire from the sky.
 
Three great conflicts did he fly the steel dragons
girdling his iron underwear to ready for the fight
carrying the fire to his enemies.
 
There are many accounts of dropping out from clouds
silently falling earthwards bringing terror
to those bound to the ground, the hordes of mongols dissolved.
 
I have his blood in me being of the warrior clan
courage flows in my arteries
resilience courses in my veins because of that.
 
It is a joy to know this part of me
because of that I can look the bear in the eye.
If I should die from it, that will be a good death.
 
I will join the others from The Before
swiftly when that occurs
the shared blood draws it nigh.
 
My Father waits for me there
we will see each other again
and tell our stories of the Earth.
 
Copyright © 2025 Ray Whitaker

Ray’s poem is from his new poetry collection, Animals.

In ANIMALS, the animals are to be found inside each poem.  Current research on animals like domesticated animals is finding out that what many animal owners know, that Dogs, Cats, even Horses are much more complicated that previously understood.  The ongoing research on the wilder animals like Bison, Wolves, Geese, even the Big Cats like Jaguars indicated their level of intelligence and range of personality is incredible.  New information is arriving in the white papers every year, and gives the rest of us new insight as to the world of animals that we simply didn’t have empirical evidence for only a few decades ago.  It is also rare to find a book of poems including them.

Anyone that has owned -or been owned- by a pet knows this.  There just wasn’t too much scientific evidence to support what pet owners have intuitively known.

The poetry in ANIMALS, the found animals in the verse are characters.  Their presence in the individual poems serves to highlight the contexts and metaphors found in the pieces. 

In the Pete Townshend song, “ I Am An Animal” [cut two of the album Empty Glass, 1980 release] the artist gives a perspective of using animals as metaphor. This direction of using animals as poetic devices in this volume of verse was partially inspired from that fine song, which incorporates many introspective characters.  

“I am an animal,

My teeth are sharp, and my mouth is full

And the passion is so strong

When I’m alone, loneliness will change me.”

The lyrics above from the second verse of the song serves to illustrate the approach of this volume.  Such contemplative and soul searching directions come from assimilating the sentient beings in our natural world.  

This poet’s intense love of the natural experience of the outdoors, it’s magnificent creatures have always been an influence on my writing. In wondering about the why of things, pretty much as I have had want to do most of my life, it is a natural extension to include animals in thought provoking poems.  The inserted photography has influenced me with the gorgeous landscapes of the eastern range of the Rockies here in Colorado. Included photos -book cover as well- are taken using my Olympus DLRS camera rig, using a careful tripod in the streams and on snowy hillsides.  All of the photos are from this poet’s journeys down back roads that no regular Ford passenger car should be on.

Welcome to the jungle of where we find ANIMALS!

Paperback

Author Biography

All writers and poets are writing out of «the Self» however there are directions that the self speaks into, that change. Now Ray’s writing is to put foremost in his work, just who he is writing for. He intends on writing for the everyday man and woman. He firmly believes that poems need to reach into the everyday person’s pictures in their minds, and engage with those. This is where he aims to make a difference in his creative writing. He’s fulfilled when he sees that his work is provoking thought in his readers. Ray has four books published, and two chapbooks. His work has been published in eleven different countries. Ray was a Delegate to the 2024 Writer’s International Panorama Festival this past January. He participates regularly with several zoom poetic events worldwide. Among them, he has been spotlighted on a US National Poetry broadcast from Quintessential Listening Poetry Online Radio and an International Poetry Recital hosted by The Fertile Minds out of India in 2025.