|
Poetry
EARTH,
NATURE
& THE ENVIRONMENT
|
|
The poems on this page have to do
with Nature, the Earth and the Environment, and the appalling things we are doing
to our natural home.
|
| |
|
Blossom
Flee to the East
Marching Metal Men
Mother Earth
Nature
Rape
Where Will We Go?
|
| |
|
| |
|
Blossom
1984
Oh, delicate blossom
Of hues so fine
From whence come you
Spectacle so fine?
From mud, from sand
From clay, or gravel
Your parent did come
To give you your life
From earth, from sun
From water, and wind
She gently breathed in
Your beauty fine
Aroma of gods
Melting the breeze
Gracing Creation
A gift to the air
Nature's children
Come to share
Blessings of nectar
And pollen sweet
Time flows by
To the autumn of life
Petals now whither
And colors now brown
But in the death
Of one so fine
There lies new hope
For all who watch
Come now the seeds
Into the earth
To again give beauty
In the spring of life.
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
I have included this poem in this section because
it is a vision I have of what might happen if we continue on our current path of
destroying this beautiful planet that we live on. It was inspired by the
first chapter of The Quest, by Tom Brown Jr.
|
| |
|
Flee to the East
1998
Gather the children
Sweep them before us
as we ride onward.
Flee to the East
across the red sky
as we ride onward.
Soon it won’t matter
who’s friend and who’s foe
as we ride onward.
Carry us swiftly
Loyal steeds of Light
as we ride onward.
The mountains lie down
before us as we pass
as we ride onward.
And when we arrive
the Earth will shake
as we ride onward.
|
|
| |
|
| |
For many years the huge, ugly hydro
transmission towers that march across the landscape have been to me a symbol of
environmental degradation. They just blast across the landscape without regard for
appearance or scenery, slicing through forests, marshes, straight up and over mountains
even. I wrote this long before the famous ice storms of 1997 (in
Eastern Canada), but the image of
the last verse certainly fits the destruction that happened then.
|
| |
|
Marching Metal Men
1984
Marching, marching
Metal men
Chop the scenery
One by one.
Buzzing, hissing
Out their hate
Tyrants, monoliths
All in line.
Twisted, broken
Is their fate
At the hands of
Nature’s wrath.
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
Just how far as a species can we push things before
something pushes back? |
| |
|
Mother
Earth
1983
Oh mother earth
So tender and strong
How can they rape you
And tear out your heart?
Oh mother earth
So deep and vast
When they have finished
Will you be all gone?
Oh mother earth
So loving of all
You forgive them their hate
And their violence on you
Oh mother earth
So nourishing and good
Can we not see
Our own death in yours?
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
Nature
1984
Ancient infinite forest
Flame of the Earth
Living Light waters
Soothing the fire
Thickly flowing rocks
The currents of Time
Earth-breathing winds
Cleansing of Death
I place my hand in thine;
Thou takest me, a friend.
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
What's the difference between raping a
person and raping the Earth? Except that it seems in this society
raping the Earth is regarded as a good thing to do.
|
| |
|
Rape
1998
Where will it end?
Who will end it?
What have you done to stop it?
Rape her again!
There’s still some left
If she crawls away
cut off her arms
Rip out her hair
Mark her as yours
When she cries out
tape up her mouth
Then beat her again
Make her feel pain
Rip out her heart
Eat it for brunch
Sear out her womb
Make sure it’s barren,
Never again to pollute
this Earth with life
If she still breathes
You can have her again
You’ve done well,
she’s dead, I think
But what are you going
to do with the body?
Why are you looking at me like that?
The rape of your Mother
stares you in the face
The rape of Mother Earth
lies at your feet
Now look her in the eye
and tell her
you love her
|
|
| |
|
| |
|
When the Earth tires of human's
destruction of her, where will we go?
|
| |
|
Where
Will We Go?
1998
When the sun falls on deaf eyes
What will the children say?
When the moon falls on blind ears
Who will speak for the Earth?
When the stars cry out up above
Where will the Elders be?
When the wind touches us with sorrow
Will we be there to listen?
When the rain fills my face with tears
Who will help me to cry?
When the ocean waves crash on forsaken shores
Will you be there to feel them?
When the rocks move beneath the oak tree’s feet
Where will we go?
|
|
|
|
|
