When Poetry Records the Decline of a Species
Historical poems provide invaluable information
There has been a noticeable decline of the number of porpoises in China, since the Tang dynasty, Numbers of the Yangtze Finless porpoises have declined by 65 percent over the last 1400 years. Scientists have discovered this after studying over 724 poems, where poets have described the movements and behaviour, as well as the numbers of the porpoises in China.
The scientists will be using the same method of analysing the poems written, to study the environments in which the species lived and what possibly led to the sharp reduction in the number of finless porpoises in China. In this creative blend of art and science, scientists use historical poetry to chart the life and evolution of the porpoises, who live in the Yangtze river, which has been their home for centuries.
As a writer and poet, this fact about the use of ancient poems, makes me realize the power of poetry. Poets have a special way of looking at life and recording what they observe in a few lines in their poetry. I enjoy reading poetry and I have always loved the ancient poems and ballads. I find poems a joy to write and I wanted to write poetry based on history. The challenge was to turn a dry subject, like history into a poem that would be filled with power, and emotion. To bring history to life in poetry is an art which few can manage or master. I did attempt to write a few historical poems and the one that I recall is “London Historica” or “The History of London”. Read the poem and I look forward to your comments, thank you. Would you try composing a poem about a historical subject that you like?
London Historica
The History of London in Rhyme for Every Seasonmedium.com
List of Historical Poems by Warren
Historical Poetry
History based poemswarrenauthor.medium.com
The Endangered Porpoise
