Neeraja Havaligi

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  • Profile
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  • Academics
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Perspectives of a Naturalist

Hope and Resilience

5/23/2018

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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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May 23rd, 2018

5/23/2018

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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.​
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