ceremony
last night in the eastern sky and
under clouds
the moon
showed half above the Earth
in
such a way to illustrate
a half-circle at rest
on
the arc
as if on the table of the planet
a cup
of moon were offered
Asian cup
without the handle
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photo by Tiago Ebisui on Unsplash
tea ceremony
Kyoto
from Earth to the moon
I look at gray
a slice of
fall
rising through the tree
and appreciate diverse times
and tones of
voices
in
nature
variety out back and
how astounding
on
the Earth
and in your love
our God
you
give us
so much room with parts we may reclaim
from what you decide is challenge
and
also how we messed the planet
up ourselves
and now
what
to do
the model of your making everything
is to allow for differences
also
discovery through exploration
tolerant interaction
with ourselves
and with
all
nature here
and
as we dare to risk to go beyond and
find the cosmos more so varied if
as fallen
as we have it here
or
we could say with Lewis that
we are the silent planet
that the rest of everything
material
and spirit has been waiting for our carrying
a presence with
a
message and
so how
will be bear
what shall we say
well
the fiction is a calling to ourselves for
real
how we shall carry on the Earth
and to the moon
and bodily
to Mars
and so
with some hopefulness that we might respect
each other on our sphere
and
globally enough to consider
growth to own
with enough peace to
take us
up and on and it will have to be enough
until
we learn as Earthkind
to model
and to mirror
with
so many facets
and to like what we behold
and
care about needs and so
our voice
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the title references From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne; then cited is Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis; to get perspective on how to preserve planets, we might read The Word for World Is Forest by Ursula K. Le Guin
photo by Aashish Chandra on Unsplash
sun and Earth agree
by these we live gold and green
the blue of water
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photo by David Clode on Unsplash
pack your trash
leave Earth better
than
you found it
when you chose shelter for the evening
here
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photo by Enfeng Tsao on Unsplash
it could be Perelandra
I’d like to say
war does not belong
or
evil in any obvious form
as well as some
sometimes
the insidious
I’d like to go on to say
rampant fire does not belong
whatever
the origin
and
lava flows
eruptions overall
then there are floods
sometimes
seasonal
sometimes otherwise
at hand
in other words
all the problems that destroy the body
try will
with severity
challenge the virtue of the spirit
what promises bad ends
and tries to take us
there
does not belong
could we have a world of this
instead
and what belongs
is
good
and easy
and airy
and practical
and makes a world worthy
from which to explore
and is there
doctrine
or a selling point
that says we’re there already
but
we’re not
and have to deal in all
the evil
with the good
the war
the fire and the flood
and
what goes on inside us
shall we be saved
while everything is motley
to
our spirit-sight
our senses
to celebrate inherent goodness
and
to bring it out
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Perelandra is a novel by C. S. Lewis. It is considered science fiction and is about a world facing a choice and so be fallen (as a world) or not.
photo by Qingbao Meng on Unsplash
we are grateful for
what we have and what we use
true the First People
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photo by Kevin Crosby on Unsplash
Bear Lodge, mistranslated as Devil’s Tower
then whose Earth and who decides
rated S for sad
1
cold or hot
the future is
uncertain
well
of course
it is
there might be winter forever
after cloud cover ironically
from heat should shield
us
tragically
from the sun
or we could heat
so fast
a melting Earth
with
torching skies might be
all
there is
it’s the unnatural future
of concern
we cannot escape or
even
evade
not really
it’s the planet
after all
the one we have affected
are
changing now
the profiteers believing there is more
to eke out while
the Earth
is
held together
more
and much more
and
a little more
before things crack for good
and then
things crack for good
2
leave the Earth go
a billion years
or so
leaving time to build
allowing time
to heal
the Earth will crack eventually
on its own
in
relation to a dying sun
all that we’re doing
so adversely
here
happen
naturally and by then we will
be ready
we’ll be somewhere else
by
then
happy to be there
too
as we can imagine if we cooperate
with the planet
now
rather than take
a few make money
leaving the consequences to
the children
unmindlessly
a consciousness to let the world
die
here and now
with
the suddenness of
a generation against Earth’s
own ages
our children
or
maybe their own
maybe
left with hard gold
to chew
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photo by Daniel Christie on Unsplash
racially speaking
the world
is of races
and is racist
now
how did we pull that off
I suppose because
we approach another people
ready
to take power
and impose it
as if
power were ours
and not lent from God
and for God’s judgment
later
I approach another color
and see
fascination
then
I hear it
but who am I
naïve
I guess
to find a thrill in meeting someone else
who clearly is not me
while racially I’m fine with me
but
I know my race and color
and here is someone who’s not me
whole
land’s worth
in fact
and isn’t that
terrific
and clearly as a world
we have not come
to feel that way
common
ancestry notwithstanding
and
could we not apply our art and science
our proclivities toward vision
our skills in
observation
with reception of each other based
on vision
sure
(and sure)
observation
goodness
there are stories
folks
of folks
and should that not be
grand occupation
that’s races
anyway
next
time maybe taking up religion
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I was looking for an image to accompany a verse on Gaza and, based on my selection, was shown all sorts of pictures of all sorts of people—the theme the site selected between them all was water—and the diversity, of the parts of our planet as well, got me thinking
photo by Dibakar Roy on Unsplash
many and great
third light tonight
third candle lit
two days
ago
the parent and the child
traditions
illuminating
the brother of Isaac has
a place
as well
and will acknowledge the same father
when
it’s time
and then east of east
there
are traditions birthing meditation
and unity in
consciousness
while
west
of here
that admittedly was here
there is understanding of an Earth
that’s borderless
flown over by trickster
Raven
and higher
lower more
the Great Spirit
so
too
those with not tradition or
acknowledge none plus
the followings so many
more
on Earth
so many ways to count
measure
this day
not as the stars
though
as people here might be grouped
or
on one’s own develop
a philosophy
as well
ways to know the Earth and
Lord
of Earth
and
sky
and us for making
and for being there
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(writing from the eastern USA)
from the Dakota Hymn
Many and great, O God, are thy works,
Maker of earth and sky;
Thy hands have set the heavens with stars;
Thy fingers spread the mountains and plains.
(Joseph Renville)
photo by Roberto Shumski on Unsplash
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