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Friday, June 12, 2020

The Wild Things Still Live



This poem won't bring back the fallen,
but it can sing a dirge that mourns their loss.
This poem won't bring social justice,
but it can strike a note that urges change.

This poem won't feed hungry mama bears,
but it can whisper to people on the trail,
"back away quietly;
let's leave her in peace."

This poem won't protect wolves
wandering into the village because
they have no home, but it will love them
and beg the wildlife officers not to shoot.

This poem won't heal my broken heart,
at all the suffering in the world,
but it can pour out a small stream of pain
to help ease the ache.

The shaman said, our poems, our art, our joy,
is our resistance. He said when we sing and dance
and tend the spirit, it helps Mother Earth.

Here, then, is my sad little poem,
when my words and my heart
have gone silent.
Here, then, is a soupçon of joy
that, no matter what,
in spite of us,
some of the wild things
still live.

for open link at earthweal

16 comments:

  1. leaves one with much to think about. thanks, Sherry.

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  2. Lovely & loving. Grief is love.

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  3. Amen. May they live forever - with or without us.
    Love your words here Sherry.

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  4. Sometimes all we have is a little ribbon of words to try to make life tolerable, a bright bit of color to tie back the wind's hair, and somewhere to cry our years that comforts, like this poem. We are lucky to live with the wild ones, and hope we aren't the last ones so blessed.

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  5. Ah, Sherry! You speak for so many when you tend to your heart.

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  6. Oh Sherry tears as I read this beautiful poem ..and a lift of hope in my soul - Thank you for this beauty in the midst of it all 💕

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  7. Into the wild we go then - Suzanne - Mapping Uncertainty

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  8. Thank you Sherry. For your words and your awareness. We owe so much to the wild things around us...

    Elizabeth

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  9. I like the repetition of ‘This poem’, Sherry, which emphasises the power of poetry, love the message, and especially the final stanza.

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  10. It is through our breaking hearts that the Earth finds a path to wholeness. All the places your heart breaks, a wilderness comes alive. - Brendan

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  11. The wild will long outlive the tame.

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  12. Beautiful, Sherry! Starts with sadness and ends up with a bit of positivity!

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  13. crying over your heartfelt words, Sherry.

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  14. Hi Sherry, your poem comes from the heart and in the heart begins a song of healing. beautiful words

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