The Earth Says (after Hokusai Says)

The earth says
keep still
stay put & listen to the roar of silence
hold on & root deep for treasure
feel the sap rising through your bones
wait & see what happens

The river says
keep flowing
into the lochs swirling & swelling & swishing
keep floating down, down & down
falling & carving the mountains
down to the beautiful sea

The trees say
keep rooting
rooting & rising into sky –
spread out your arms to embrace everything
breathe deep, deeper with each falling leaf
gather fruit & nuts for winter

The sky says
keep looking
sniff the air & notice the small
changes moment by moment
breath by breath   cloud by cloud
watching your thoughts float by

The birds say
keep singing, sing from your heart
fly from branch to branch
stay curious, stay light, start fresh
each year with a new nest then be patient
& sit on your eggs till they hatch
The sun says
keep smiling
smile at your reflection on still water
from dawn to dusk go outside
out to play with light & shadow
in the day long dazzle leaping through thin air

The compost heap says
keep rotting
decomposing, turning, burning
digest everything that comes your way
keep returning to the earth
& the earth returns tenfold to you

the earth says keep still stay put
wait & see what happens next

Larry Butler

Lie down

Lie down with your belly to the ground,
like an old dog in the sun. Smell
the greenness of the cloverleaf, feel the damp
earth through your clothes, let an ant
wander the uncharted territory
of your skin. Lie down
with your belly to the ground. Melt into
the earth’s contours like a harmless snake.
All else is mere bravado.
Let your mind resolve itself
in a tangle of grass.
Lie down with your belly
to the ground, flat out, on ground level.
Prostrate yourself before the soil
you will someday enter.
Stop doing.
Stop judging, fearing, trying.
This is not dying, but the way to live
in a world of change and gravity.
Let go. Let your burdens drop.
Let your grief-charge bleed off
into the ground.
Lie down with your belly to the ground
and then rise up
with the earth still in you.

By Nancy Paddock

Breathe

Breathe, said the wind.
….How can I breathe at a time like this,
….when the air is full of the smoke
….of burning tires, burning lives.
Just breathe, the wind insisted.
….Easy for you to say, if the weight
….of injustice is not wrapped around your
….throat, cutting off all air.
I need you to breathe.
I need you to breathe.
….Don’t tell me to be calm
….when there are so many reasons
….to be angry, so much cause for despair!
I didn’t say to be calm, said the wind.
I said to breathe.
We’re going to need a lot of air
to make this hurricane together.

by Lynn Unger