I ... entered the poem of life, whose purpose is ... simply to witness the beauties of the world, to discover the many forms that love can take. (Barabara Blackman in 'Glass After Glass')

These poems are works in progress and may be updated without notice. Nevertheless copyright applies to all writings here and all photos (which are either my own or used with permission). Thank you for your comments. I read and appreciate them all, and reply here to specific points that seem to need it — or as I have the leisure. Otherwise I reciprocate by reading and commenting on your blog posts as much as possible.

24 April 2016

Giving Thanks

To David, Carolina, Maia, and their companions

In Guatemala on Earth Day
near Lake Atitlan,
my friends are planting trees.

The wind thanks them
for a new tool to make music; and
the birds thank them for welcome rest. 

The sun thanks them. The work
will be better, tempered by shade.
The animals thank them likewise.

The Lake thanks them. The roots
will bind its banks. The branches 
will spread, leafy, to shade the fish. 

Rain, taken up into clouds, 
will drip from the leaves, down 
to refresh the earth and its plants.

The plants and the soil say their thanks too.
Only the people - except for a few - don't thank.
(Oh well, people. What do they know?)















Image by Vijay/ Creative Commons

14 comments:

  1. Trees are a magnificent.What a lovely poem!Beautifully simple but rich in meaning.
    There are a lot of people who do not like trees and destroy them for various reasons. Rosemary as a right doing witch you are obligated to cast a really bad spell on all of these people to stop them from continuing. Tsk..no excuses now, like I've lost my broom stick , cant find the right spell book,I only do good ones etc:)

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  2. How I love this poem, love the idea of the birds and wind and sun and animals thanking them.......wonderful that people are planting trees on Earth Day.

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  3. People can be such crap. I know, I know, whenever I think of how humanity treats our Mother, eloquence and patience fail me. What is wrong with people! *sigh*

    I will close my eyes for a bit, think about the wonderful people who aren't blind or deaf or ill-mannered... the ones who know how to thank, I will think of them and of the music played by wind and branch, I will keep them clear in my head, and hope...

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    1. Ha...looks like Magaly will be closing her eyes to an entire nation...tsk the value of global travel and understanding cultural differences. Magaly, I would not dream of ever speaking to an American like this...As an Australian Rosemary recognises my comment as endearment. It's a way of saying I like you lets have a bit of the jolly and fun...Ill manners have different connotations for all cultures, ours included.

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    2. I thought Magaly was commenting on my poem, not on your comment.

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    3. (I didn't take either remark amiss. But I do know that Aussie and 'Yank' humour often need translating to each other.)

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  4. Oh Rosemary, this is absolutely stunning both in words and image :D love the idea of the wind, the sun with chirping sweet birds and animals showing appreciation for the planting of trees :D Beautifully penned. Thank you so much for participating at Prompt Nights.

    Lots of love,
    Sanaa

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  5. I love the reversed perspective - i thinks some people know a lot and when the world works at its best it's all about give and take..from the ants to the elephants and the people planting trees..

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  6. There is so much to be thankful for, sometimes in desperation of the earths treatment we forget, we can make it better for future generations xox

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    1. It may be that we are doomed – but still, we can do whatever is possible in the here and now, and make a difference right where we are. And it will affect the future too, which is worth doing, however much future we have.

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  7. Wish we could say the same about Australia. Two hundred years ago we had a pristine continent now we are destroying it and the seas around us.

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