I am so sad and everything is beautiful.
- from "Adrift" by Mark Nepo
At the shore, the sun shines silver on
the scudding clouds, the island, the tombolo,
the scudding clouds, the island, the tombolo,
the shining water. My heart lifts
at the beauty of this world I walk through,
breathing wonder.
breathing wonder.
In the same moment, thinking of the suffering going on
across the world, I ache with grief at how we are
destroying our beautiful garden; at how cruelly
we are treating the non-human beings who share
this planet; at the hatred and division we are showing
our fellow earthlings.
This is how joy and grief co-exist in the lives
of humans who have lived this long. We know, now,
how we are meant to be living. We understand
how far we are falling short.
Yesterday I smiled at a heron perched on top
of the Coast Guard tower, her wings huddled
around her ears, as she surveyed the busy harbour,
the gentle rounded slopes of Meares.
She could see far. When I look out,
across the country, across the ocean and the planet,
I see a mix of peaceful valleys, flooding lowlands,
starving wild ones, breathtaking mountains,
devastated oil fields. Farther away, bombs are
pounding villages into rubble, and fascism is rising
across the globe.
Yet this morning dawned
as beautiful as ever, the stars winking out,
the steady sun rising behind the hills
the steady sun rising behind the hills
at Rosie Bay. Walking out onto
the sandy beach, one can imagine a world
whose heart beats in harmony, where gardens
flourish and everyone is fed.
The pain exists between the vision
and the heartbreaking reality.
Yet, because of the beauty,
the incredible courage, of Mother Earth
and every living thing
that only wants to live,
the incredible courage, of Mother Earth
and every living thing
that only wants to live,
we can never give up,
never give up. We can
never give up.
never give up.
Shared at earthweal's open link.
Moments like these are worth staying alive for. I'm glad you have them and share them.
ReplyDeleteSo much beauty on one side and the threat of everything falling apart on the other... sigh...
ReplyDeleteIn the Greek reckoning of deity(ies), Eros the earth-loving is bittersweet: fraught with both joy and loss. It is to have a living heart and mind which experiences it all. And can become full. Bittersweet reflections here, more powerful for both senses alive in it.
ReplyDeleteTrust in the beauty Sherry. There is so much to worry about right now. I think part of the way we become those rainbow warriors you so long for is to trust in the light and in beauty. Suzanne - Mapping Uncertainty
ReplyDeleteWe must give thanks for all the beauty around us and also because as poets we are blessed with eyes to see it and share it. Nevertheless we have to balance it with all the frightful reality stuff which we must address as well....You are right we cannot give up and we wont while we can share our words on the page and hope it inspires and provokes thoughts.
ReplyDeleteyep, i know exactly how you feel. what you describe here, that is the insanity we just keep repeating over and over and over... its hard to watch.
ReplyDelete"The pain exists between the vision
ReplyDeleteand the heartbreaking reality." I love the focus on seeing here--what the heron sees and what the speaker sees, what is near and what is far. Yet here on the promontory, there is just the two of you--both I think--chanting like the Little Train that Could.
It is amazing how both joy and grief can live side by side; and so true that we can never give up trying to fix out eotlf.
ReplyDeleteI love the sighting of the heron, these creatures can teach us much about life. The visions and the reality may be different but, yet they are connected. Never give up my friend! Giving up is defeat and we need to hang on to each previous breath of life.
ReplyDeleteBack again, Mark Nepo is wonderful! Laurie's prompt today was the poem "Yes, We Can Talk" by hinm Check it out if you want another good prompt. He is Buddhist.
ReplyDelete