Hope and Resilience
- a poem for my farmer uncle Bare hands and feet work the ground, season in season out and like now in seasons out of bounds. Hands, feet and soul feel earths call a call to caution of times to come. He tells me of times when the earth frolicked like a young thing unbound she was happy she was nurtured her laughter spoke in the seeds and fields of coriander peanuts, coconuts on the yonder. Swaying fields of crops aroma in summer air memories of another day. Days that stay in memory reminding me of work still to be done. A promise to keep for those bare hands and feet working the ground trying to understand why the earth is changing her mind her wind, her rain leaving the soil and people waiting in vain. Get to work he says my farmer uncle, even as he is laid to rest in the bosom of his mother he lies to rest. His tired hands feet and soul now free of the wait for rains, sun and steady winds his constant companions to tend the seeds he saved. I promise you my farmer uncle I will work till its my time to rest do my best to gather my community around the stories of hands, feet and soul that work with earth, water and seeds, Remind people he says the earth, water and seeds, belong to all, they are ours to nurture, ours to care ours to stand up for and save. Climate change is a reminder he says of corporate plans gone awry. Climate hope he says, this farmer uncle resting himself with fellow microbes as I write, Climate hope is the seeds we save the seeds we nurture the seeds we share seeds bring us together to the table to celebrate natures nourishing blessings gently reminding we are only passengers on this ride we call life, a reminder to care when you can for the train that offers such a wonderful ride.
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This poem was inspired by students and people I met while teaching the Model United Nations Camp through Saturday Academy in Summer 2017. The experience left me with hope for our collective future, on the many avenues we have to understand and use water as a limited resource. Here is the poem.
Water Diplomacy On the Willamette bouncing stones bonding over food and talks of summer, storms smart fund sites pollution recreation and conservation. At Bull Run the grand Old Growth forests, 'natures infrastructures' in their silent majesty, taught us of ecosystem payments we don't account, in busy bustling lives, Of water use efficiency energy from dams, of salmons and salmon runs. it is never zero impact. We learnt of of intergovernmental networking bringing water to communities to you and to me, of compromises made of shared responsibilities to have fresh cool water at the opening of a tap. We are 'privileged by what people before us have done' Briggy said, a gentle reminder for future stewards at the Bull Run. Another visit, another day Waste not, we learned through the stench and near barfs our students held, appreciating the work that keeps rivers turning into waste, instead, turing waste as fuel of the future. We travelled by bus in Portland, and on maps and minds to parts of US and Canada, to countries in Asia, Europe, Africa South America understanding water is without boundaries but is, contained in treaties agreements and understandings between people communities counties countries and regions. We learnt water is more than 70% us humans, it is our culture our language our food our music our dance our economy our ways of lives. It contains and nurtures all, this colorless odorless usually tasteless three atom gift of nature. We learnt of dams and control, of biodiversity loss loss of many lifetimes of knowledge, Of shaken threatened thriving economies, Of corporate social responsibility of political geographical interests conflicts and compromises. Students I believe are great teachers, for their enthusiastic open minds to learn, their debates a reflection of bright minds, of their negotiating skills their diplomacy, their passion for nature nurture and sense of fairness, for sustainable economies sustaining cultures and communities, with mindful growth. I could not ask more from our MUNers, only for more time for our learning journey together. |