day 26: land

a poem a day in the month of may

Friends,

We begin the 5-day countdown to the end of May, and the end of our time together. For so many reasons, this month has gone by so fast, but I hope that these moments with poetry and the power of words have fed all of us.

And it helps us ask the question: what are we going to do in June? And July? And in the coming months?

What does slowing down with words teach us about how we should be living our lives? Where should we make changes? Where can we slow down?

Today’s prompt is the word LAND and I can’t help but think about the connection between LAND and story.

The land has a story to tell.

It is dripping in the sap on the trees,

humming beneath the bubbling streams,

weaving its way through the forests,

stretched thin but strong, like a spiderweb.

The story of the land is forgotten,

covered up by years of colonization,

and yet, it cannot be overcome.

The land has always existed, and

the land keeps existing, so

stories keep existing and they cannot

be forgotten, no matter how hard we try.

Place your hands on the ground.

Lay your body in the dirt.

Talk to the plants inside your home.

Write love letters to Mama Earth.

Float on water and listen.

It is true.

We have been removed from the land,

our very bodies, our very beings.

Something in the relationship has been

broken, never to be repaired again—

and yet,

stories live,

and our best chance

at becoming the humans

we one day hope to be is to

begin listening again to those

stories that are returning us home

to ourselves, one another, and our Mother.

The land is a beacon,

a reset button,

a quiet walk in the woods,

a prayer for forgiveness,

a nod of approval,

a quick kiss on the cheek,

a never-ending journey.

The land is the story,

and so are we the story,

so we continue each other,

forever and ever until the very end.

Iw. Amen.