Once there was a panda, and he was attacked by a leopard. A much beloved shepherdess came to his aid, and though he survived, she did not. The pandas came to her funeral with armbands of ash on their all-white fur, but as they sobbed and hugged, and rubbed tears from their eyes, and covered their ears to give themselves peace from the grieving, they marked themselves for all eternity.
They gave Giant Pandas
an origin story of
unwashable
grief,
and then wonder why they do not
fight for life.
Some days
it is the best I can do
to sit upright,
and chew my food,
and
I
have lost
no one
whose ashes
I must
wear on my skin
for every turn
of my iterations.
How many sobbing sunrises
have pandas seen
since their loss?
How many weeping clouds,
and too-full skies,
and painfully-empty pastures?
When they climb so high,
so high,
is it to remember
or forget?
Do you think they remember the last time
anyone even asked?
Thought I’d give this tweet by @naomilingwrites a chance as a prompt. Happy Pepper Day!
Did you write a post today? Feel free to link to it in the comments. If you’re looking for more to read, click the badge below to be taken to the WordPress reader and see other folk participating in this beautiful November 2020 Pepper Day.
rarasaur 
I want to hug a panda! 💗
Thud.
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Me toooo. They need to hear a thud, too. ❤
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Pandas are very cute animals especially baby pandas. It’s unfortunate that they are among the endangered species!! Lovely poem by the way.
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Yes! When they’re young enough that their eye spots are still round and their bodies are all wobble, it’s the cutest thing. 🙂
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Have you been following the new one over by me? I can’t wait until the national zoo is a safe space again.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/11/23/panda-national-zoo/
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I have! What an adorable little face.
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Thud and hugs and beautifully written all in one ❤
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🙂 Thank you. *hugs*
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Beautiful poem, makes me love pandas all the more. *hugs* ❤
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😀 Thank you!
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💜🙏💜
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🙏🏽❤️
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Every panda I know would have difficulty fully grasping the meaning of the word ‘iteration’.
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What a beautiful poem 🙂 I want to give a panda a hug 🙂
Side note: For some reason, my post doesn’t show up with PepperDay tag. Any tips for getting it right? Thanks.
https://readandwritehere.wordpress.com/2020/12/22/dont-be-a-statistic-minimize-your-risk/
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