Spirit Bear Speaks

runawaynow.com

In the Great Bear Rainforest,

home of black bear and grizzly,

wolf and whale and deer,

I walk, Spirit Bear, with my cub.

tidescanada.org

Among thousand year old cedar,

I take shelter. Along the shore

I find roots and berries and salmon

to feed my small one.

mothershipadventures.com

Long time back, Great Bear

walked these lands alone,

but now Two-Leggeds come

to fell the Standing People.

When the trucks roll in,

and the metal saws whine and shriek,

we run, seeking sanctuary.

But no matter how far

into the woods

we travel, they always 

follow.

straight.com

ipfieldnotes.org

In the forest, the grapple-yarders.

In the air, helicopters, 

to lift the big trees out.

No where

is there safety,

a place to rest.

greatbeartours.com

Along the beach, boats full of tourists

come to stare, the whales blowing hard

and diving deep, swimming fast

while the boats 

relentlessly follow.

Sometimes the people raise cameras,

and sometimes guns.

Yet they think we are

the dangerous ones.

picstopin.com

Back and forth we run, 

from forest to beach,

looking for food and safety

and a Place Where They Are Not.

My heart aches for my young one,

as our lives

grow harder.

threesheetsnw.com

The Great Bear Rainforest is a jewel of the northern Pacific Coast. Home to Spirit Bear and thousand year old cedar, it is supposedly "protected", which means "only" 50% of those fast disappearing old growth trees will be logged. Logging roads now wind through what once was pristine sanctuary, which any sane society would preserve simply because it is one of the last old growth forests left, not to mention wildlife needing habitat. Future generations will look back at us in horror. 

This is posted for Peggy's prompt at Real Toads: write from the point of view of an animal in a place you've never been. Do check out the other links. There will be some good responses. Great prompt, Peggy!

Listening To You While Driving Home

en.wikipedia.org

Driving up-Island, I slid the cd

into the player. The music swirled,

and then the spoken words:

"The minute I heard my first love story,

I started looking for you,

not knowing how blind that was.

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere.

They're in each other all along."

Enchantment. Enlightenment. 

Electricity. Recognition.

Somewhere within, through all the years 

of searching, I had known this

without knowing.

Gazing at the clouds

wisping across the mountains

like Sufi dancers,

I was smiling.

"Let the beauty we love be what we do.

There are hundreds of ways

to kneel and kiss the ground."

Your words a blessing in my ears,

the effervescence of your love

a benediction

in my heart.

Posted for Kim's prompt at Verse First: Writers are Lovers: to write a tribute to a poet we adore. I chose Rumi.

THE NEXT STEP

emergenceearth.com

When you stand in the middle 

of multiple branching paths,

knowing which one you take

will impact the next several 

finite and precious years,

when you are laden with the weight

of all that you carry,

and are called to

the steepest path

by oracles and owls,

never worry how your breath

will manage the altitude,

or whether your heart

is robust enough

to reach the mountaintop.

Traveling is managed

one footfall at a time.

Just take

the next step.

Posted for Mary's prompt at Poetry Jam : Steps

Spirit Moose

alaska.com image

For 500 years,

we have been telling you

the Spirit Moose

is a sacred animal.

He comes to us

with a message

from Spirit.

He comes to us 

as a connection

between

us and Creator.

He is never to 

be killed.

His hunters

only saw meat,

and a trophy.

Now we will

never know

what he came

to teach us.

The recent killing of an albino moose in Cape Breton is causing distress among the Mi'kmaq people, and other First Nations people across Canada. Albino animals - moose, bear, buffalo, lions - occur rarely and need to be protected so they can continue to breed. They are considered spirit animals to many of us, whether aboriginal or not. 

Perhaps he came to teach us what we already know - that too many of us have forgotten our connection to the wild, and to Spirit.

The three hunters involved have apologized and said they "did not know" they should not have killed the moose. Though the chance of encountering a white moose during one's lifetime is so rare, that might have been a clue. They have removed it from the taxidermy store and  offered its hide and horns to the Mi'kmaq tribe in reparation. There will be a blessing ceremony for the slain moose.

My heart is saddened by the death of one more rare and beautiful animal.

BLUE SKY WOMAN

She is

Blue Sky Woman,

who has walked around

her whole life,

head back,

gazing at the sky.

Sky Traveler,

so many miles

she has wandered

under the beauty

of this

celestial blanket.

Star Dreamer,

she asks her questions

of the stars,

and, when they're silent,

she directs her attention

to the moon.

A white dove of Peace

flies alongside

as she journeys,

for she wants

no disharmony

anywhere

near her person.

Her step lilts,

and she sings as she travels,

for a hopeful heart

rides along

in her breast pocket.

That blue sky

has carried her

a long ways,

first thing she sees

in the morning,

last thing she sees

at night:

so much beauty, mystery,

and wonder

to be found

in decoding

the transubstantiation

of the clouds.

One from 2011, kids, from my Traveler series.

Cash 'n Carry

Friday night excitement:
the big people all smiles.
"Dad's going to the Cash 'n Carry!"
He comes home with a "mickey"
and some other stuff
they call "booze".

The four year old watches 
with big eyes
as the "party" starts.
Banished from the living room,
she hides behind the couch
to keep watch, 
slips away down the hall 
as the voices escalate,
shivers in her bed
as the screams and bumps, 
the crashes and strangled cries 
rend the air
towards midnight.

Thirteen years of midnights,
afraid that in the morning
one of her parents
will be dead,
and she'll be left with
the wrong one.

Then alcohol claimed its victim
and he was gone.
The other victims
continued living.

Corey over at Real Toads set the prompt of liquor, a topic I know a considerable amount about.

Spine Poetry

The searching spirit,

the audacity of hope:

fire in the soul,
 race against time
for the benefit of all beings.

Reason for hope:
spiritual ecology,

a return to love.

Paths to peace:

being peace.

Peace is every step.

An open heart:

compassion in action.

I give you my life:

how can I help?

Over at dVerse, Sam Peralta set us a cool, fun challenge - to create a poem using book titles. I quickly picked a handful off my shelves at random. I could have gone on and on!!!!

Authors are, in order: 
The Searching Spirit -Joy Adamson 
The Audacity of Hope - Barak Obama
Fire In the Soul - Joan Borysenko 
A Race Against Time - Stephen Lewis
For the Benefit of All Beings - the Dalai Lama

Reason for Hope - Jane Goodall
Spiritual Ecology - Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee
A Return to Love - Marianne Williamson

Paths to Peace - John Matthews
Being Peace - Thich Nhat Hanh
Peace Is Every Step - Thich Nhat Hanh

An Open Heart - Dalai Lama
Compassion in Action - Ram Dass and Mirabai Bush
I Give You My Life - Anya Khema
How Can I Help? - Ram Dass and Paul Gorman