Khepri

[rayheinrich]

Should I criticize an opinion expressed in a poem? I'm of the opinion that criticizing an
intentional opinion expressed in a poem isn't a valid criticism, but that asking whether
an author intended to express a specific opinion might be helpful in case the author
didn't intend it or that it was ambiguous and maybe he didn't intend it to be.

From your poem: "Are you not more valuable than he?"
I'm assuming you meant this line ironically and the opinion was intentional, but because
of the above reasons, I wanted to call your attention to it.

Also the meaning, association, and ambiguity of "valuable" might be something you want
to look at. The biblical quotes intend this to mean "valuable to God" which might or might
not be an implication you intended to make.

P.S. These beetles are dying out around cities because the light pollution from the cities
keeps them from seeing the Milky Way so they end up starving to death.

P.P.S. Just for the record: I'm of the opinion that no form of life is inherently any better
or worse than any other. I'm also of the opinion that humans, due chiefly to their hubris,
aren't doing themselves and most other lifeforms any favors at the moment.


Criticism pertaining to Matthew 6:26:
(While this is more a criticism of the factual accuracy of Matthew 6:26 than of your poem;
the poem, by referencing those lines (IMHO), does get drawn in.

Matthew 6:26
Living Bible (version):
26 Look at the birds! They don’t worry about what to eat—they don’t need to sow or reap or
store up food—for your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than
they are.

King James Version:
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns;
yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

=======
While I can't answer for the birds directly, I bet you dollars to donuts that they worry a whole
hell of a lot about food. And I know from personal observation that the chickadees outside my
house in Virginia took whole sunflower seeds from my feeder and hid them under the bark of
trees and came back and ate them later. Though, I must admit, I have no evidence either way
that the heavenly father didn't teach them how to do this.

I also observed that while lots of other bird species migrated south for the winter, the
chickadees, nuthatches and crows stayed. Probably because they had enough food during
the winter where the other birds didn't.

P.S. I found this on the web about birds caching food if you're interested:

"Yes, some birds do store food for the winter. This behavior is known as "caching".
Here are a few examples of birds that engage in this behavior:

1. Chickadees: These birds may hide hundreds, or even thousands, of seeds every year.
2. Nuthatches: Similar to chickadees, nuthatches also store food for the winter.
3. Woodpeckers: Some species of woodpeckers are known to cache food.
4. Jays: Jays, including blue jays, are known for their caching behavior.
5. Crows: Crows are another bird species that store food for the winter.

These birds may make up to 200 different storage places, burying food in the crevices of
tree bark and hollow limbs or under leaves. They leave no marks to identify these
storage places but they are able to return to find the food up to 6 months after leaving."

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/do-bi...he-winter/