Nature's Poems

The first poem below tells much the same story as the Nature poems in Some One's Book of Living, but in a different style.  The personification of Nature is poetic license and not an essential part of the ideas expressed in the poem. The poems that follow point to a way of living inspired by nature.

Our Natural Mother

My eyes are open. I see the earth,
Which serves as home to me.
Did this great world cause my birth?
Can it teach me how to be?

Billions and billions of years ago
A collapsing star blew up.
And thanks to physics being just so,
It spewed forth all the world's stuff.

From this stuff our sun was born,
And from the remaining debris
Our own earth was slowly formed
With sky and land and seas.

As round the sun our earth revolved,
Mother Nature showed the way.
So that over time we all evolved
To what we are today.

In this way our natural Mother
Gave birth to you and me.
And by watching Her we can discover
The way to live and "be."

We are just one among many
Of the species here on earth.
And more obligated than any
To see in others their true worth.

In nature, the animals roam free
And live where few can see them.
So we should have our privacy
And live our lives in freedom.

The lotus bloom is satisfied
By the simple things it's given.
So why should we not be gratified
With a simple way of living?

All things beautiful on the earth
Are due to our natural Mother.
The beauty she brings is surely worth
More than any other's.

Bad or good, short or tall
It matters not who we be
Our sun shines down upon us all
With equanimity.

The vastness of the universe
Makes small the tallest tree,
So living here 'tween sky and earth
Demands humility.

The change in seasons is rarely late,
And every year the cycle repeats.
You only need the patience to wait
For your life to become complete.

See the world with mindfulness
To reveal the interbeing.
Look everywhere with thoroughness,
It's unity you'll be seeing.

The natural world changes constantly
Nothing stays the same.
Our own self has no constancy.
Movement is the game.

Each wild animal finds itself
As predator or prey.
So how do you define yourself
As you journey on life's way?

The natural world seems to run
On a cycle of birth and death.
We're born, we live, and then we're done
When we draw our very last breath.

Nature gives no suggestion
If after life, afterlife begins.
For the answer to this question
We must turn our gaze within.

Earth Whisperer

As she walks through the forest
    the birds sing out her name.
Standing on the beach
    dolphins leap to give her joy.
When she walks in the desert
    scorpions retract their stingers.
While climbing mountains
    eagles soar above her to lead the way.
Wherever she walks
    the earth cherishes her footfalls.
She was born on Earth Day,
    which the earth knows as Her Day.

Snow's Blessing

Overnight the temperature drops,
Chilling the naked trees to their core.
And the snow begins to fall,
Covering the earth with frosting.
Dark, silent, cold, and frozen is the landscape,
Until the eye of the sun blinks open,
And sees a pristine world,
Without a blemish.
All has been made fresh
So that we can go forth in a new day
And mark new paths with every step!

Spring

Spring, where are you?
I’ve been waiting for you for months.
It’s April, don’t you know?
And the ground is covered with snow!
The daffodils are frozen in mid bloom.
The robins are pecking the frozen ground
with puzzled looks on their faces.
No worms!
We’ve barely seen the sun for weeks.
Spring, why are you sleeping today?
Please, please come out to play!

Prairie Grass

Like the prairie grass that waves together
And thus withstands the windy weather,
I need my sangha by my side
For my own spirit to abide.

Like a stalk of grass that stands alone
That quickly breaks and lays down prone,
By myself I'll bend and dither
And soon will see my spirit wither.

The Donkey, the Llama, the Lamb

Touch the donkey, the llama, the lamb.
Feel their softness and warmth.
Wrap yourself in their life force.
Know that you are part of that same life force.
Now feel your feet touching the ground,
Feel how it supports you and gives you a foundation.
Is it the ground of your being?
Look at the trees, the grasses, the ferns, the lotus.
See how they cherish the dew and stretch towards the sun.
Breath in the oxygen they produce.
Breath out the carbon dioxide they need in return.
Embrace the cycle of life.
Celebrate that you are part of God's Kingdom on earth.