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https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2020/02/24/former-un-climate-chief-calls-for-civil-disobedience/?fbclid=IwAR1x9jGhPvFJTH5eINYuHSRTEQA1Zucr6il2-Dxy2AzsGCqUFVd8xE-JVCk#6aed86233214 February 25, 2020
Something happened today In 1946, I think this was the day Or nearly, at least My parents married Portland, Oregon In the home of Blanche and Morris Hodge Their lifelong friends Morris, a photographer did those honors And we have them today in memorium Their first year was extraordinary In ways Nearly beyond imagining Opening with new love Expectation Limitless hope The whole world beaconing Closing in the polio ward Of Children's Hospital, San Francisco A baby born And handed to the Spregs For care What must Mary and Max Endured In year 1 Of their union? The miracle Among many Was the glue Commitment Love Infinitely bestowed On one another How the realization “It is polio” Must have struck them Mary so deep in fever Max in loving action How the hospital could lose her in their bowels Left to die, alone, painfully Max, threatening to call the newspaper Unless she is moved, NOW to San Francisco An unmoving administrator Does the impossible And she, transferred Her life saved, barely And how does Mary’s sharp mind Mold meaning Comprehend Understand And grip The new “normal” Into which she is rolling Not capable of walking Diagnosis Polio A year of thinking Listening to children crying Longing for their parents Long days Longer nights I can barely imagine Lost in her own mind How did she and my father Escape this Hell With hope And still together When so many other couples Coped By uncoupling to leave The pain behind Or try I suspect, not succeeding Really My parents first year comes to mind As I ponder the choices Set before me Yesterday, 2020 Her symptoms of illness As measured by atmospheric CO2 hit 414.09 ppm Up from 310 the year my mother’s fever peaked Earth's fever Is rising There is no hospital to take Her to What should I do? What does my moral compass require of me? Act, to save Her life Scream with fury Cry out in neutered anguish Accept and adapt Uncouple my mind From this reality And just go on I think I can learn from them Love each other, completely Without reservation No matter what Love the Earth completely, with reservation, no matter what Act to improve that which we can (Dad brought movies, weekly to entertain the children) And then this habit continued, against all odds Life-long Give in to optimism Laugh a lot Find beauty everywhere Be astonished (thank you Mary Oliver) Observe and report Live fully Nothing pleases a parent more than Observing Her children thriving So - Thrive Monday, Feb 24, 2020 - 7AM
I am intertwined With everyone I’ve ever cared about, or Cared for, or Who has cared about or for Me This loving attachment Extends her vines Beyond separation, Time Distance Death, even My memory Travels back along her Twisting strands As if it were earlier today Or yesterday past my nights dreams My parents smiling Back at me Holding hands Sitting by the window Watching the red sunrise And speaking of love And life And eternity My sweetheart Partner Life co-creator 44 years of love Support Caring Deep attachment Until the living strand Snapped With the finality of A guillotine I left Standing Lost In a strange Lonely Place Not alone, really Surrounded Supported By a community of caring All those intertwined in our lives Were holding me In their arms Crawling forward On my hands and knees Out of darkness Guided by roots and tendrils Mycorrhizal connections Feeling my way forward Ah, a new junction In the fibers Awakened memory fired Half century lost Joyfully Emerging Back Into view Like spring wisteria Twining and reaching Nourishing each other New joy Happiness Love Light Color returned To my life And hers Then Suddenly Our magic carpet Held by hope And dreams Dropped groundward I ask “why?” How can such a perfect Fruit Spoil Perhaps not tended to Enough Perhaps She and Me lost In We Perhaps I Not willing Not able To speak my truth And hers My Soul I Muffled Pierced my denial A language Of emotions Speaking, shouting? Anxiety, moodiness, depression Distance The antidote Unwinding Untangling The Me But too late Something was dying Had died In the phloem Wordlessly For love We parted Returning to each Their life Sadness came Love remains Some loss Much gain And then Emerging from Perhaps past lives Perhaps our karma Perhaps, just the Love of the Universe In which we are all intertwined Or just the luck of a winning scratch-off card And before the sun had set On this day Of death An Angel’s magic wand Put Love Gently Into seat 12J December 9 Just for me Just for Us We both say “yes” To this gift Leaving fear behind Carried by Supported by A sturdy basket Of experienced Life Loss Wisdom Optimism I am enjoying Relishing, really These new spring sprouts Washing me In gentle New Love I have decided To trust In what is here And now And today To trust myself And herself And our Angels If we just remember To listen And how shall I
Celebrate my new love Hold a refrain of gratitude and wonder Gifts from the angels With full awareness Of our diminishing Earth Amazement, Wonder, & Delight Fear, Sadness Grief How do I hold Both The hope and ecstasy Of new love And the Despair Of a dying planet In the same embrace? My arms trembling With hope & Love And loss And tears Tightly squeezing That which I cherish Wanting to hold this moment Forever Then turning love And grief and despair into creative action To protect All of those whom I love With my being I’m late for my next meeting
My kids have the flu My wife is pissed with me I have to make my sales quota I’m late on my house payment I don’t have time to care about another species Endangered or going extinct Yes, we’re all busy living our own lives AND - You are doing all this Because? You love your children You care about your family You hope for the best for your grandchildren It is Love that drives all this Busy-ness and responsibility taking What if the species dying Was your daughter? Your son? Your innocent baby grandson? What if the dying Was coming To your own body? Amputate a foot A hand A liver But it is Every species lost to Mother Earth Is a gash to every human body A cut in the web of life That holds us aloft Feeds us Water’s us Provides a liveable temperature range To live in And when the last Key Species Dies Sending the teeter-totter careening off it’s fulcrum Into the abyss Beyond human Control (An illusion of our hubris) Then what? Will you think back From your wheelchair To that one busy day And wish You had taken Even just one action To save one species That would save you As you watch the ecosystem Careen Off a course that is Inhabitable to those you Most care for ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) Threatened (fed) Threatened (OR) Nests and forages in OG and mature forests. coniferous and mixed conifer forests. This sub-species historically inhabited most forests throughout southwestern British Columbia, western Washington and Oregon, and northwestern California as far south as the San Francisco Bay. Current range is the same but populations have declined. Loss and adverse modification of habitat due to timber harvesting, land conversions, natural disturbances such as fire and windstorms. Competition from the barred owl, an invasive species, native to eastern North America. These have led to a decline of spotted owls throughout much of their historic range. Estimates suggest that the amount of suitable habitat available to spotted owls has been reduced by over 60 percent in the last 190 years. Owl numbers appear to have declined annually since 1985. Spotted owls are currently declining at an average rate of 3.8 % rangewide each year. (3) This charismatic sub-species evolved in large swaths of old growth forests. The northern spotted owl is a nocturnal "perch-and-pounce" predator that captures its prey (primarily small forest mammals) with its claws. Like most owl species, the spotted owl nests in the tops of trees or in cavities of naturally deformed or diseased trees. Spotted owls primarily mate for life and may live up to 20 years. Wringing our hands
In easy resignation Convenience and profit Wrapping their tiny Corpses In paper caskets Soothing ourselves with, “yes We Tried” It’s only one in 10-100,000 going extinct this year. Out of a statistically significant range A shame What was it called? The Marbled Murrelet? If we understood As God is trying to tell us That what lays In those tiny coffins Are the cells of our very own Body Diminishing the possibilities Of all future generations The knife we are plunging Is an act of suicide And genocide Self loathing At a scale That makes our better Angels Weep Are we all are drinking the kool aid Together? Some appear to be putting their Lives On the line To stop The dozers Trenchers Steel Diesel weapons of war On nature If I can only die once It shall be for the sake of My Sacred Lover The Living Earth Earth is Alive.
When we Love Earth With the intensity of Our newborn baby at our breast Or the eyes of a cherished lover Then Our fear Our denial Our indifference Will become Passionate action For her protection Until then We can’t be bothered Every once in awhile I decide to take a look at what I value. My technique, used over the years, is to start with a set of blank 3 x 5 cards and a pen. I like, one per card, people or experiences that are important to me, or values that are important to me. “Creativity”, “Being a good father”, “Being a good husband,” etc. Anything I can think of that I value is on a card. “Travel”, “Financial well-being,”...You get the idea.
After I have filled a lot of cards I come back each day and sort the cards. I force myself to prioritize these based on what’s important to me. To make this valuable to me I have to screen out everyone else’s wishes for me. I have to ignore “You Should love xyz.” “You should care about xyz” etc. This is a private set of cards based on what you, as the beautiful person you are, would like, for yourself. (Since you’re probably not an axe murderer your list is completely valid and appropriate.) You have to be selfish with this list. You have to be honest. It can be difficult. I often ask myself if this is my wish for myself or someone else's wish for me. It is hard to choose one great value or goal over another. But that’s the assignment. “If I could have this or this which would I choose?” After you sort the list daily for a week you’ll discover that the same cards keep coming to the top. This is what you value. If you find that your life is not being lived in a way that you are living these values, it is time to begin making changes. I find that for me, I am only truly happy, when my life aligns with my list of values. If I find myself depressed or dissatisfied with life and I do the values cards, I can discover what’s out of alignment. Now, I’d like to jump to a related subject. Our (human) destruction of the natural world As a parent, and now grandparent. My cards include having a relationship with my children and grandchildren. Also, I want them a planet, as full of possibilities as the one I grew up in. I want them to have wonderful, fulfilling,lives. I could not want for my loved ones:
I know you’ve heard this so many times that you are numb to it by now. We, humans, must start reducing carbon emissions by 7.6% this and every year for the next decade if we want to avoid catastrophic climate chaos and other layers of environmental degradation that will leave our children, grandchildren and all future generations with a far poorer world to live in. We each must muster our energy to find ways to influence our governments, around the world, to legislate for a carbon free fuel planet by 2050. This is going to be a heavy lift. And we have to do it for the people we care most about. |
AuthorJim Powers is a dreamer, optimist, inventor, writer & poet. Archives
September 2020
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