Wednesday 17 February 2010

THE RHYTHM OF LIFE
by Carol Pool

You speak
of the beat of the drum
and liken it to the beat of the heart,
but you do not hear
the beat of the heart of the Earth
for you are no longer in harmony with it.

How can you feel
the heartbeat of the Earth
when you walk only on areas
you have suffocated with concrete?

By doing this,
you have disconnected yourselves
from nature
and can no longer feel
the gentle pulse of life
but instead harken only
to the rapid ticking of your clocks
and the noise of your engines.

You do not hear the cries
of the Great Spirit
calling you to silence
for only when you are silent
will you know
the wonders of your world and ours.

Everything beats
to the Rhythm of Life.
The Great Spirit speaks to you
in the vibration
of the wings of the butterflies
and the bees,
in the rustle of the leaves
on the trees,
in the song of the birds
and the call of the wild.
Each one plays
its part in the great orchestra.

Except man,
who plays a different tune
and beats his drum
and crashes his cymbals
so loud and so often
all he hears
is a cacophony of discordant noise
and not
the beautiful melody
that surrounds him.

Small wonder indeed
that man can no longer feel the heartbeat of the Earth,
and cannot hear her cries of pain
when he trashes her land,
destroys her forests
and kills her creatures

Do you not know
that what you do to the Earth you do to yourselves?
The trees clean the air,
yet you rip them out of the ground
and then wonder
why your children cannot breathe.
You smear the soil with poisons
and pollute the waters with your waste
and wonder why your food is contaminated
and your health is poor.

You are like spoilt children
who bully and beat their mother
until her spirit is battered and broken
yet still expect her to get up
and nourish and nurture you.

You expect her still to love you
and care for you
when she is bruised and bleeding
and dying of a broken heart.

The Earth is that Mother.
Take care.
Love her, respect her and revere her,
for without her you have nothing.
Nothing.

Remember the drum and the beat of the heart, for
HEART
is just another way of spelling
EARTH.
copyright Carol Pool 1999 - 2010

1 comment:

  1. Carol, this is one of the most beautiful poems I have ever read.
    I would like to make a video with you reciting it to images of your choice.
    Wonderful.
    My quality.
    Will
    :-)

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