Man vs. nature
I would write in the margins
back when I was made
to do such things
I remember that
along with man vs. man
and man vs. self
— conflict
Now, some forty years later
as I walk the trails
and see
what I see
I wonder why
I never wrote
nature vs. man
I wonder why
back when I was made
to do such things
—–
Just a note: I understand we more-accurately say character instead of man these days. This poem takes me back to the 70s. A lot of things were different back then. (And a lot of things weren’t.)
Yet There is Method 
Tim, I love your questions. The conflicts man has ravished on nature have been relentless, and it shows. Maybe nature is ready to get back at us.
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Denise, they have been relentless indeed. As we push things further and further, I do believe we’re going to see what could be perceived as pushback. Just ask folks who live on the coasts. Thanks for reading and commenting!
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Yes, “nature vs man” seems more accurate. But we’re an arrogant species aren’t we.
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Vivian, well . . . yes. We are, indeed.
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Why not “nature vs. man”? I imagine it is because in the end nature always wins. Our mortality is a tough thing for people to concede. A very introspective write,
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Nature eventually wins, but the battle can be ugly. Thanks for your comments!
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The themes that power all the stories…yes, maybe the verbiage has changed a little but you’re right, some things haven’t, such as conflict itself. I could wonder “aloud’ here which conflict is worst or most frightening (man vs. man?-self?) but I am more intrigued by your current wondering about nature vs. man. It’s always going to have the edge…
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I love the flip of nature vs. man. I feel like this is me all the time these days – not nature vs man, but the flip, the moment of “why did I never see it this way before?” Honestly, the older I get, the less I know. But hey, at least we’re still out walking the trails!
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I agree, Tim. Nature vs. man seems correct. We haven’t been good caretakers of that which was put in our charge.
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These big ideas here. I love them. And this idea of nature versus man. Part of me wonders if it’s because we know, always, who will eventually win. (Of course I type this and then go back to reading the comments – so…nothing new here.) But I also wonder if part of that connects with the invincibility of youth, the willingness to see ourselves as fallible in this world. I think I have some thinking to do…
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I enjoyed the way the end of your poem brought us back to where you began. You left me wondering why “nature vs. man” wasn’t something we considered – and why we were required to write assigned thoughts in margins.
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I like how your poem returns to a time when things were different (and, yet, the same). I also really like how it describes a change in thinking and a change of heart (maybe?) in our we see ourselves in (or part from) the natural world. I love how you provided questions but no answers. No excuses. No defensiveness. Just the way it was and that is enough to make you wonder. A priceless post, Tim.
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Whenever you buy a used novel that has been used in a class, you can be sure to find one or more of those notations in the margin! Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
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