Council of Wolves Celtic candle holder
(I happen to own one) available here.
Lazily, I turn
the kaleidoscope of my mind round
and round. A giraffe mama's long neck
bends down to kiss her baby's head. A line
of elephants parades ponderously past, trunk to
tail. And tawny golden lions lie amber
in the setting sun, as twilight falls
over the savanna.
Two more turns, and there is ocean: wild waves
galloping in to shore like white-maned horses. Eagles
spiraling lazily in the air currents, wind-surfing
the sky. And Old Growth standing sentinel
on this last pocket of pristine wilderness
before the logging trucks roll in
to carry it all away. The wolves,
with diminished homeland, are thin and hungry,
and wrestling seals for a hard-won dinner for their cubs.
My heart loves the wild ones, but my eyes
see clearly: my loves are in peril.
The wild ones are Third World citizens
in our young-souled country. I would ask for
forgiveness, for we know not
what we do. But before forgiveness must come
protection, restitution and restoration,
(as with First Nations, who are waiting,
along with the land and its creatures,
the ocean and its dying denizens,
for all wrongs to be made right.)
In a dream-state, the journey from
doormat to healer unfolds, frame after
frame. Drums sound,
owls hoot, shamans chant, and wolves
sing their kinship song to me, for they
have claimed me for their own, recognizing
that I am more identified with wild
creatures than uncivilized humans,
who still have centuries to go
in the evolution of soul.
I click ahead just twice more, for that is all that is
left: the unknown yawns before. But I have faith,
and trust that there will be wolves and ocean waves
within my Heaven. I will sit in the centre
of the circle, ringed by their wise loving eyes
and bushy tails, and we will speak together, in kinship,
of many things.
shared with the Poetry Pantry at Poets United.
So much thought went into this poem, Sherry!
ReplyDeleteP.S. And, well, Sherry....I have no doubt at all that in YOUR heaven there will indeed be wolves & ocean waves. It would not be heaven for you if there WERE not!
ReplyDeleteOh, such a beautiful poem and vision!
ReplyDeletethis beautiful poem reads like a deep sigh to be felt only...
ReplyDeleteI wish Sherry that all destruction deserves forgiveness for it is because they know not what they do... but sometimes it just seems like more of arrogance and greed. Lets hope the wolves and ocean waves survive us thoughtless humans.
ReplyDeleteI fear in the end less for the wild ones than for humanity... I doubt we will outlast them... I hope for a heaven like that.
ReplyDeleteSadly the carnage is worldwide as we rape and pillage without any thought for the future. No doubt thinking foolishly we will grow vegetables under plastic on Mars, not realizing what we have now is all we have and it must be protected or our children die.
ReplyDeleteI love the imagery of the kaleidoscope..your mind making sense of the patterns..knowing when it is senseless but trusting it will fall back into place..
ReplyDeleteOh this is beautifully profound, Sherry!
ReplyDeleteLots of love,
Sanaa
i wish your heaven for you, mi amiga.
ReplyDeletei wish this heaven for the wild and the free, the eagle and the wolf.
i wish that human-kind, just once, could see a vision of this heaven, could smell its air, could drink its water, could traverse the un-denuded,unscathed landscape.
to this end, i too wish to eventually sit in this circle where my brother the wolf, my angel the eagle, we can tell of our sojourn on earth and wish it well.
gracias for sharing your spirit, mi amiga
A thoughtful and moving piece, Sherry. Your graphic works in the expression, too.
ReplyDeleteYou've done it again! .. given me chills and tears and sisterhood and hope and inspiration and ...a gorgeous poem... thank you...so happy to be here again..
ReplyDeleteOne of your best my friend....the idea of a kaleidoscope mind, and watching nature the demise of our natural world and wildlife. How my heart breaks too but I also have faith that we will repent and make it right somehow....your images, drawn by such amazing words, are breathtaking!
ReplyDeleteSomeone has been traveling the dreamways. I no doubt you will sit in the circle as you are connected to the earth and her song.
ReplyDeleteThis one travels so deep, Sherry... In my head, it plays like a silent film, and it's vivid and almost overwhelming (in a good way) in how it pushes anyone who experiences the words (the images) to truly see.
ReplyDeleteSherry such wise words...you are a truth speaker...but when the winds have changed, the ghosts of the past, (of past thinking) stand out, as if all wearing red, standing out from the rest...slow footed, out of step...so slow to catch up.
ReplyDeletei do admire your intuition and kinship Sherry and i am awed by the skillful use of imagery in your poem
ReplyDeleteA happy Sunday to you and thanks for dropping in at my Sunday Lime
much love...
This has a wonderful eloquence. There is a lot to the piece, and you have constructed it thoughtfully and skillfully ... imbuing it with powerful, evocative phrases ("wild waves
ReplyDeletegalloping in to shore like white-maned horses" blew me away.) An impassioned articulation of the quest to be one with nature - to sit at the center of that circle. Beautiful, Sherry.
Beautiful... but I think your inner circle has all those "things" in the heaven you/we are in...now!
ReplyDeleteVery nice piece.
ZQ
The whole thing is stunning, as always, but that first sentence just completely took my breath away and captivated my imagination so powerfully. Brilliant, Sherry :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you for showing your heaven to me. It is most beautiful and wondrous,
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
the wolf, so magnificent, yet so misunderstood. but it will outlast us humans.
ReplyDeletethis is such a profound poem, Sherry.
What a wonderful ending verse, one that reflects perfectly your image at the beginning. Very nicely done throughout.
ReplyDeleteOwwOOOOOOOO! Love totally.
ReplyDeleteBut most of all I thank you for this image: "Lazily, I turn
the kaleidoscope of my mind round
and round." Because something clicked in me as I read it! It is perfect. That is the highway of association we bring too poetry and have as a constant way of seeing. So I am not crazy as you wrote about it. And I also love this transition:
"In a dream-state, the journey from
doormat to healer unfolds, frame after
frame. . . . " Oh, Sherry, you have been claimed and you express your work beautifully and seductively. We will restore, we must.
This is beyond stunning! The images you gave me were so wonderful, like I was there in your head. Sad with truth but full of hope...I add my hope to yours that these things will come to pass and things will get better. There is always healing to be done.
ReplyDeleteAre you native American or just into the culture? I have an Indian blanket on my bed and love the ways of the Indians they are so wise the way they look at the earth and life.
Thank you, Bekkie, for your kind words. No, I am not First Nations (as we call natives in Canada), but I resonate strongly with their culture. Far more than my own, which isnt a culture, unless it is materialism or the Myth of More.............Indigenous people worldwide know how to live on and with the land. We could learn much from them. I was privileged to work among First Nations people for eight and a half years in Tofino, at a residential treatment centre for families struggling with addictions issues. I loved it so much. They are a beautiful, honest people, who have suffered much but who love to laugh. It was an honour that I gained their trust. During ceremonies, I felt deep in my soul such resonance that I think, if there are past lives, in one of them I must have been First Nations. My room is full oif wolves, a medicine shield made my women at the powwow, masks,feathers, baskets, I cleanse with sage and sweetgrass........and the sound of the drum goes right into the core of my being. Thanks for reading.
ReplyDelete