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Wednesday, July 17, 2024

If the World is Ending

 


If the world is ending,
come walk with me into the forest.
It has been this verdant, this silent,
this peaceful, for millennia.

The angry voices do not enter here,
where humans are respectful guests.
This is home for deer, raccoons, owls,
eagles, small scurrying creatures.
Stealthy cougar, big black bear
and shy, elusive wolf move invisibly
through the trees,
curl up in the vacant bowls of ancient cedar,
evading us, as we have taught them
we are to be feared.


See the tiny mushrooms, banquet
for fairy folk. Breathe in
the color green: fern, salal,
old man's beard, lichen,
moss soft and plush
as a princess's pillow.

If the world is ending,
walk with me along the shore.
Hear the waves singing
their forever song.
This much beauty feels like prayer,
even if the prayer is only
an expanded heart and "Thank You."

If the world is ending,
sit on a log with me.
Gaze into forever and watch
as the huge, golden-red fiery sun
goes down.


This poem was inspired by the title of Patrick Ramsay's poem "If the World is Ending."

2 comments:

  1. I looked up Patrick Ramsay's poem and it was wonderful... so much to think about.. love that natural beauty would be the most important thing at that time...I might borrow this line and try to write something...if the world is ending...sigh...

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is really a beautiful poem, Sherry!

    ReplyDelete

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