Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#171518 11/22/07 03:54 PM
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1
G
gia Offline OP
stranger
OP Offline
stranger
G
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 1
Please, I would like to understand the meaning of the expressions GONE SPOOR and GONE SCAT from the following Gary's Lawless poem:
I will be waiting for someone's help. Tks a lot....

Treat each bear as the last bear.
Each wolf the last, each caribou.
Each track the last track.
Gone spoor, gone scat.
There are no more deertrails,
no more flyways.
Treat each animal as sacred,
each minute our last.
Ghost hooves. Ghost skulls.
Death rattles and
dry bones.
Each bear walking alone
in warm night air.

by Gary Lawless

Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
T
veteran
Offline
veteran
T
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
It means exactly what it says, gia; no more tell-tell droppings, no more smelly trails to follow.

Conclusion: Think, Ghost Riders in the Sky.

The effect: the line by line disappearance of all trace aspects of these wild creatures helps empathize the irrevokable nature of their disappearance and underlines the diminished state of our world should they be lost.

Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
I had to look it up though I got the approx meaning,
scat verb.
to go off hastily

spoor noun
a track or trail, esp. that of a wild animal pursued as game.

Wasn't a scat a little fish too. Didn't someone once say: "ever say scat to a cat?" A hasty run, a fish, an animal dropping, what more surprises?

Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
to go off hastily

Not that scat, BranShea, but the noun scat.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
What he's saying, Milo, is when the animal is gone, so are its signs.

Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
T
veteran
Offline
veteran
T
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,529
Originally Posted By: Faldage
What he's saying, Milo, is when the animal is gone, so are its signs.


No Faldage, that is not what he is saying. He is saying what I said he is saying. Your quick quip is the stuff of boors and baseball players.




Last edited by themilum; 11/22/07 08:46 PM.
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 956
old hand
Offline
old hand
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 956
Originally Posted By: gia

Gone spoor, gone scat.


I think this means the trails and any trace of a pursued animal will no longer exist if we keep hunting and killing all of the animals willy nilly.

Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Oh là là , you mean you can't say f.i.:
'where's the scat?'
'the scat has gone scat?


Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
you mean you can't say f.i.

I say it all the time, but I pronounce it if. The Scatman's cat scats. Simper if.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Originally Posted By: themilum
Originally Posted By: Faldage
What he's saying, Milo, is when the animal is gone, so are its signs.


No Faldage, that is not what he is saying. He is saying what I said he is saying. Your quick quip is the stuff of boors and baseball players.





Oopsies. My bad. I mistook the Thanksgiving turkey for the Christmas turkey, thinking somehow that you had posed the original question asking what it meant. Your answer is definitely closer to the poetic truth.

Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 444 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5