Temüjin

Poem & Statement

The Mongolian Steppe - Joseph Feely

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Sunlight dies upon dried grass
while hawks lord over the steppe
searching for mice 
to steal screaming from the fields
That is the way of it
That is how the skin drum beats
That is how the sheep horn sings
Each blade of grass shaking 
the summer wind howling
War is near 
A shepherd boy sleeps 
to the sound of grasshoppers
in mourning
The sky above them torn 
as a comet speaks
The horselord hears war 
beckoning from the heavens
And the baron sees fire
consuming his holdings
within the glow of its tail
And the priests watch god 
Pointing his slender digit 
in judgment
as it streaks across the sky
All while the fieldmouse 
burrows through dying grass 
caked in dirt 
safe under cover of the night

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Statement

This poem is about fate, signs, and our relationship within the natural world. In the year 1222, Halley’s comet returned to view as summer came to an end. Most considered this star to be an omen. Upon seeing the comet, Genghis Khan believed that the heavens had blessed his invasion eastward from the Mongolian steppe. In 1066, the comet appeared shortly before the Norman invasion of England, and to many, signaled bitter days ahead.

The last time the star entered our view was 1986, and due to light pollution, was more difficult to see with the naked eye. Perhaps that says something about the state of signs nowadays.