Walking for days
in forests,
green, alive and fresh
on hot summer days,

delighted
by the lightest tickle
of a robin’s feet
on my hand,

seeing the forest
collaborate and regenerate,
every tree, leaf, microbe,
every living thing
just being
itself
in harmony
with everything

walking for days
in forests
where every drop of water
every particle
in this web of life,
carries me
once again
to the core of being
home

walking for days
in forests
where heart and soul find rest,
body gets fit and well
and mind
falls still
at last

when, as if from nowhere,
a large wave of grief
comes rolling in,
for the untold pristine forests
lost
for the numerous clean rivers
lost
for the multitudes of species large and small,
lost
and for nature’s balanced rhythm,
disrupted and disappearing

Deeply rested
At last,
Refreshed
Renewed
Revitalised

After walking
for days on end
through windstill valleys,
on ridges and hillsides,
carried on wings of sparkling clean,
fresh forest breath,
powered and reset
time and time again,
by breathtaking grand landscapes
that feed legs,
heart, lungs
and spirit
pulsing with life and
anticipation
at the dawn
of a new
coming of age

Waterfalling
falling
falling
clattering
sparkling
from rock
to mossy rock
down and
ever further
down

waterfalling
crisp
clear
cold
alive

Waterfalling
sometimes
you only hear
a gentle drumming,
then gushing
through gullies,
among ferns
around rocks
over boulders
and tree roots
gurgling
trickling
dripping
from tiny
mossy fingers

ever moving
touching
refreshing
every living cell
it meets
until they all join
in clarifying
unison

waterfalling
calling
urging me to
slow down

slow down

open every fibre
take in
savour
what this precious
earthy
moment
offers

Rainfall
Rockfall
Crashing waves..
Thoughts keep rumbling

Meanwhile
the blue sky
the heart of the earth
the deep of the ocean
Are still

Finally
I hear
the call…
my heart
at ease,
in sync
with silence

The joy of compost
Sweet smelling, soft and crumbly
rich abundant life

What will it take
to co-create a new world?

A world where I know
what’s good for all is good
for me
A world where I know
water, air and soil
as my body
A world where I know
it will take
remembering
to stop where I’m heading
at breakneck speed
even
to stop what I’m doing
right now

It will take remembering
To stop

To feel the earth
the trees
the sun, the rain
To dwell for a while
with all of creation
breathing
in every cell

It will take remembering
to stop and sit
to feel and hold
with love
the dormant seed
stirring
in body and soul
and take the next
small step
towards its
unfolding

only to remember
to do this again
and again
and
again

This year..
 
THIS year
ripping to shreds, then
weaving a new fabric
of everyday life;
familiar structures
of coping
stripped bare
more than
a few times,
hard to recognise
the depths of
what
    your
         body
               knows
in this moment

You remember
once again
the time
has come,
each day
a new beginning,
to open
to make room
for a warm and welcome
space
for all of life
to share itself
to have a place at the table
of the whole intimately
interconnected and
multidimensional
raw and fierce
divinity of it all

Turning your body
into a warm and welcome
launching and landing pad,
from which to live
and return
to the fullness
of your precious life,
for the benefit of everything,
from the micro-organisms in the soil
to the micro-particles in our communal soul(s)

This year
nearing the end
of its messy
unpredictable life..

Giving thanks
for the wild,
transformative
ride..

Listen
for your future..
it’s already
softly humming
in the background
Look with tender eyes,
you’ll see it
shimmering
on the far edges
of your aliveness

waiting for you
to live into
the shape and texture,
the expression
and fullness
of your life
 
Waiting for you
to live into
the wondrous mix
of stardust,
gathering,
growing already
to form you,
waiting
for the spark to ignite
and for your future
started long ago,
to burst into
the light..

26/09/2020

In the cauldron
of 2020
under stress
from remnants of grief,
from all things covid,
uncertain, changeable,
cut off at the knees
from everything familiar

under stress
from looming environmental disaster,
from exposed predators in toxic
systems,

under stress
from called out white
privileged power
and fragility,
and from stowaway bedbugs,
AND a litter of cute baby
mice suddenly
running “amuck”
in my house (to top
this little
package off)…

under the weight
of this….
blow after
ongoing shake-up,
the dragon of old trauma
awakens,
revealed by vapours
emerging from the deep..
volcanic bubbles of
irritability,
anger
even an occasional
geyser of rage
spouting into the daylight,
bursting through
the care-fully,
tightly, woven cloak
of compassion and kindness,

this serpent of secrets
no longer invisible and hidden
in the depths and privacy
of the mind
no longer only known
in embarrassment
shame and
guilt…

It’s in this great mix
of life at this time,
that the Great Mother
arrives at my door
unbidden,
announces herself

a persistent presence,
demanding attention,
inviting me
to extend
a wholehearted, full
and warm welcome
to her love, care and kindness,
generosity,
her creativity and passion,
and…

to extend
the same
wholehearted, full
and warm welcome
to the power
of her devouring
and serpentine sharpness,
fiery fury
her seductive and
destructive powers

showing me,
urging me
to beckon it all in,
becoming one seen,
respected and
welcome
transmuted
integrated whole,

creating
bit by bit
an unstoppable
harnessed
creative force
for good

20/07/2020

Stepping out
into a balmy late
autumn night
the air
and the earth still moist
from the day’s
rain,

I’m stopped in my tracks

I can almost taste
the sweet, rich,
earthy scent
all around me,
alive and present again
to my afternoon’s garden work
         hands covered in soil
         sprinkling a web of
         home-made magic
         compost
         over and around every
         bed and tree,
         rain in my hair,
         part of the elements
         in my element!
         dusky, darkening light
         nudging the day along,
standing outside my back door now
my body knows
it’s done what it is meant to do.

Finally
the earth around my
feet and in my heart
is singing,
its joy
accompanying me
home