Category Archives: Poetry

What If Nature Could Remember or Dream?

After I posted Open Heart; Open Mind, I recalled a Wendell Berry poem entitled In a Country Once Forested. I wondered what if nature really could remember? What would that be like? What if nature were a dreamer of dreams? I think Wendell Berry says it beautifully and wisely in this poem.

The young woodland remembers

the old, a dreamer dreaming

of an old holy book,

an old set of instructions,

and the soil under the grass

is dreaming of a young forest,

and under the pavement the soil

is dreaming of grass.

I think nature is can recall and able to dream dreams. It might look like this.

Open Heart; Open Mind

I walked out of the house and looked up at a clear sky. The Moon stood out in the sky and just below was a morning star. It is not a great picture, but it reminded me I live in a metropolitan area of over 1 million. I find my self rewarded when I take the time and see nature in that place. They are there; I only have to look for them.

See what I want

Hear what I choose

Instead, open my whole self.

Behold nature’s gifts

Hold close to the heart

Hidden only when I choose.

Nature waits for me

Quietly reveals its self

Open my whole self.

9/11

A friend asked this morning, “Where were you?”

I was in my car driving to school when the news broke. It seemed surreal like H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds must have. When I got to school, I found a TV, and we watched it in my classroom. Other teachers did not take the same approach which surprised me. In today’s world, the interconnectedness is so real.

It is easy to say this could not happen in Canada, but on September 10, 2001 who would have thought it would happen the following day? Who could predict the consequences of the act of a handful of men that day and their impact on our lives?

That infamous day

I recalled today

A surreal moment

A nightmare.

Senseless tragedy

Grief shared

Touches one;

Touches all.

Time to heal

Hold memories close

Loved ones gone

Not forgotten.

A Time of Rest

Kathy took this picture last weekend. They finished a day cleaning the farmhouse and it is livable. The sun, after a dreary day, appeared and the sky was awash with golden rays. I feel this way in the classroom. I love what I do. I am whole and find voice. I am a learner, a teacher, and the two are inseparable, but I remind my self to be mindful and give thanks.

Fleetingly framed

Trees against golden skyline

Nature paints day’s end.

Glorious moment

Sky awash with golden light

I am fulfilled.

Tern, Tern, Tern

Kathy and I walk in the North Saskatchewan River valley 3 or 4 times a week. As we walked today and came across this scene, it reminded of the Pete Seeger melody Turn, Turn, Turn using words adapted from Book of Ecclesiastes.

To Everything (Turn, Turn, Turn)
There is a season (Turn, Turn, Turn)
And a time to every purpose, under Heaven.

The Sun Set Tree

Kathy took this at the farm the other day. She called the Sun Set Tree. The sun briefly reached out and shone some rays down on an otherwise dreary day.

Blurry silhouette

Unnoticed against leaden backdrop

Feel so lonely.

The sun smiles gently

Shares tentative rays.

I receive its warming glow

Gather strength.

Reveal that hidden among shadows

Stretch boldly.

Smile with Brother Sun

A sacred moment.

The Establishment

Kathy was at the farm this weekend and found school notes she thought came from about Grade 10. I promised I would not say what year, but I was taken aback by how little things change over time. The “angry young poet” emerged from within.

The Establishment

They know best for the rest

Indoctrinate

Not change

Recall non-existent good old days.

Disagreement

Simply wrong-headed

Rebels

Who are we to question?

They have it made

Material wealth

Exclusionary tactics

Depend on them to know best.

Maintain existing order

Demand allegiance

Or cannot enter

Fail to practice what preach.

On the Road

It was a dreary day when we started home from Prince George, British Columbia but, when traveling in the mountains, that is a dynamic that adds to the view.

Barely on the road, we spotted a bear browsing on the shoulder above the highway about 10-15 metres from the car. We rolled the window down and he posed before disappearing from sight.

mountain peaks peek out

snow almost hidden from view

clouds blur the picture.

valley flowers bloom

richness on nature’s canvas

a soft brush at work.

Mount Robson revealed herself within a cloud-like frame pointing her majesty into the blue sky above. I enjoy taking pictures of Mount Robson when the clouds show something different.

I took this picture of Mount Robson a few days earlier. The white on the mountain is glacier or snow.

Kathy and I hiked a few hundred metres along the Berg Lake trail. We had not done this before, but it is a hike we will attempt next summer. I settled for this shot of Mount Robson which disappears from sight as you move along the path. In the foreground, is the Robson River which has its headwaters on Mount Robson and flows into the Fraser River a few kilometres further down the highway.

File:Berg Lake Canadian Rockies.jpg

I borrowed this picture from Wikipedia, but a goal for next summer is to hike into Berg Lake, camp, and bring back pictures.

On the Edge

Kathy and I are back on the road this morning. It will be Monday before I post again. I disconnect to reconnect. I feel on the edge at this time of the week and summer. I go back to work next Wednesday and, for the first time in my career, I am not looking forward to going back. I am on the edge and find faith in something other than me.

Each step

Brings me to the edge.

Uncertain balance

On the edge.

Instability dances with stability

Harsh with the gentle.

Quiet the self

Hear the soul’s gentle words.

A still space reveals wisdom

A spirit of Faith.

Look forward;

Look down.

Go forward

Accept hands proffered in similar Faith.

Stairway to Heaven (Sunwapta Falls in Jasper)

I was sure I had visited Sunwapta Falls before, but, when we got there, it realized otherwise. Sunwapta River flows from Athabasca Glacier and the falls plunge over a hanging valley left by receding glaciers about 8000 years ago.

The path down to the overview above the falls is unique with the tree roots playing an integral role in the stairway. I got closer to the edge than I usually do. Initially, I was going to post a number of pictures, but changed my mind when I looked at this picture taken on my camera by Kathy.

Gnarled it wends

Nature’s stairway

Reveals beauty

Safely, I gain confidence.

I find a way

Previously impossible

Life now fuller, richer

Nature and creation await.

A ray shines down

Lights the path

Shines on each step

Of this ‘highway to heaven.’