Friday, August 17, 2012

Planet Earth is My Home

Sagarmatha, southern face of Mt. Everest
photo by John McConnico, Associated Press


From the swirling mist clouding the peaks
at the Roof of the World,
where the snow leopard  stealthily pads
along the snowy cliffs,
to the monastery halls of Dharamsala
where the Ocean of Wisdom
prays for Tibet to be free,

http://www.plumvillage.org


to the monks, in prayerful meditation
at Plum Village,

My beloved Wickanninish Beach


to the shores of the Pacific Ocean,
wave upon wave
ceaselessly rolling in,
in endless cycle,
through all the days of Time,




from deep within the forested slopes 
of the Andes,
where the Enlightened Masters
hold the kundalini of the earth
in prayerful reverence,


to the frozen vistas of the Arctic,
where the Dene follow the Old Ways,
as the New Ways wreak havoc
with the permafrost,
tundra and icebergs melting faster than
starving polar bears can swim,
drowning in their ever more frantic
search for food,



to the forests of the Amazon,
laid waste for Profit,
as the forests fall
and the Earth
heats up year by year,




Sudan refugees by photographer Sebastio Salgrado

to the deserts of the Sudan,
where people die for lack of food and water,
while their brothers and sisters
around the world
turn their faces away,
feeling helpless,
and the governments bog down 
in allotment and distribution problems,





to the camps of the child soldiers,
who know only that life is hell
from which there is little hope
of deliverance,





to the "theaters" of war,
hatred and bombs, 
gunfire and peril,
in the streets where children used to play.........


Peace Planet Hands from

Because we are all connected,
and not one of us can exist
without all the others,
because when a tree falls here,
the earth heats there,
when an iceberg melts there,
sea life dies here,
when humankind hates humankind
and forgets our shared humanity,
my heart lifts and shatters 
ten million times a day:

lifts at the unutterable beauty of this world,
and breaks at how mankind lives
in our suffering Eden.

Because Planet Earth
is my neighborhood,
and I am a
a planetary pilgrim,
I love it
and ache for it,
every day.

13 comments:

  1. A Very Big Poem from a citizen of the world--I am moved by the words and photos together. You have a large capacity for awareness which is a kind of prayer in itself. Thank you.

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  2. Your poem definitely gives the message that we are all part of the same neighborhood. Love your poem and your philosophy.

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  3. yes




    Aloha from Honolulu
    Comfort Spiral
    =^..^=
    > < } } ( ° >

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  4. This is so beautiful. We celebrate our planet neighborhood and weep for those who suffer in it.

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  5. I am a planetary pilgrim! So, so powerful Sherry. I love the you of you who keeps us all centred and focused on what is most important.

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  6. Because of the this wonderful human cry, I 'howl' with great pride that you are mi amiga

    If only we could grow this circle
    in such numbers that if we all inhaled and blew we would put out the fires, if we all gave a crum we could eliminate hunger, if we all stood in between the anger and hate we could stop the bullets and bombs.

    Oops, sorry I was in a momentary state of reverie.

    Gracias mi amiga

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  7. Beautiful and heart-wrenching, Sherry. As someone who feels far more affinity for the beliefs of the early denizens of this planet (you know, those who harken to the ways of a time before we got "civilized"), for me this line says it all:

    "where the Dene follow the Old Ways, as the New Ways wreak havoc..."

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  8. All of this is so deeply moving in its truths. Human beings are the worst parasite this earth has ever had the misfortune to have to deal with. Most seem hell bent on simply seeing to their own needs now and ignoring this planet in her last gasp dying throes. I wonder what the grandchildren's children of this present age will think of us and how we treated this beautiful earth. Not content now with spoiling this one, we fill space up with our junk now too. We will reap what we sow, eventually and, it will be well deserved.
    Very moving write Sherry. Yes, you are a true planetary pilgrim.
    Fabulous poetry.

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  9. The brotherhood of man ... Sherry, your poem is awesome and quite amazing.

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  10. Yes we must all remember that we live in the same neighborhood called Earth--so beautiful and yet so tragic.

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  11. This is awesome Sherry! You took on the whole world for a cause. Not many are aware and lesser still are bothered. The will for survival is unfortunately blocked by human failings imposed through greed or arrogance in many instances. You've highlighted them most profoundly. Very well crafted!

    Hank
    P/S You may wish to take a peek at my latest posting 'Jungle Green'at 'Rainbow' Thanks!

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  12. I agree with Helen and Hank. "Awesome" is the word, Sherry. The earth is awe-inspiring, its devastation is awful. A very powerful write.
    Luv, K

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  13. Dear Sherry,
    Our thoughts unite on this.

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