Living in Greater Harmony with Nature

Throughout human history man has battled nature to survive and thrive on this earth. Modern man ultimately learned to harness the forces of nature and put them to work in the service of mankind. But all along, man’s ability to gain dominion over nature exceeded his understanding of his place in the natural world. Unless mankind learns to live in greater harmony with nature there will inevitably come a time when the world can no longer meet man’s physical needs, let alone those essential spiritual needs met by the natural beauty – the shear majesty -- of our remarkable planet.

Earth

I have despaired of ever finding words
To describe my feelings about nature and the earth
About the beauty of waterfalls, trees, and birds
The wonder of a plant’s dying away and its rebirth
As the seasons ebb and flow

To hold a seed and see how it will grow
Into the towering cedar rising from the forest
Like a sentinel amid the lush ferns on forest floor
Oh miracle, that with such majesty have we been blessed
And miracles abound as we our earth explore

If only I could find the words these feelings to convey
But they elude me, leave me open-mouthed in wonder
Speechless in a quiet glade, or gazing rapt across a blue-green bay
As roiling clouds gather black against the sky and thunder
Reverberates against my chest like a beating heart

I am struck dumb, have not the art
Of expression, exposition, or refrain
How can I not love thee Earth, birth mother
Your rich womb my sole domain
Mother, sister, father, brother

All that I am and would be
Bound to you by all I cherish
I cannot speak, but you hear me
My beating heart sings my wish
Hold me, hold me, hold me

A Winter Walk

The snow crunches underfoot
as we make our way
Finding footing by memory
along a path we visualize
Winding through trees
hung with frozen berries the birds
will harvest in late winter
We’ll watch waxwings dart about
Slightly drunk on the fermented fruit
Giddy with the thought of coming spring

Half blinded by bright sun
and sparkling snow
Our eyes are grateful
for the soothing colors that
Nature sets about the landscape
Yellow ochre, umber, burnt sienna, sepia

Like the waxwings
We anticipate the spring’s pale green
fronds and bulbs
Morphing into summer’s dazzling
panoply of colors
And then fall, where we marvel at
Nature’s ingenuity
As her seeds fall, and float, and fly
And scattered about, await rebirth

Nature takes nothing away
but only changes
And even now, watching
our breath fog the air
We see shimmering in our mind’s eye
All the things we love so much
And pointing to dry reeds along
The frozen pond, call out
Come, see how beautiful.

For Maureen & Susan