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For the Beauty of the Earth
Poems from the CHILD-HEART About the Planet
N. Thomas Johnson-Medland
and
Glinda G. Johnson-Medland
Photos by
Bob Cook and Sarina Cook
For the Beauty of the Earth
Poems from the CHILD-HEART About the Planet
Copyright © 2013 N. Thomas Johnson-Medland and Glinda G. Johnson-Medland. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
Resource Publications
An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3
Eugene, OR 97401
www.wipfandstock.com
isbn 13: 978-1-61097-552-0
eisbn 13: 978-1-63087-595-4
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
Dedication
Tom’s:
To our sons, Zachary Aidan and Josiah Gabriel, who will inherit the earth.
We are trying to be mindful of how we leave the planet when we are done with it. We hope to make immense change before we leave—giving you a New Earth—Version 3.5—that will last forever and be a joy!
Glinda’s:
To my children Zachary and Josiah; and, all of the future generations that will continue to enjoy the wilderness and beauty that is nature.
“But no matter how kindly we feel, we will never be able to participate
in healing the world around us as long as we keep seeing Nature
as something different from ourselves.”
—Gerald May, The Wisdom of the Wilderness
“We are all filled with a longing for the wild. There are few culturally sanctioned antidotes for this yearning. We are taught to feel shame for this desire . . .
No matter where we are, the shadow that trots behind us
is defiantly four footed . . .”
—Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Women Who Run With the Wolves
Preface
We want to thank all of the guest poets—young and old—who joined in this process and shared their work. Many have never published before, but wanted to be included in a book about the beauty of the earth and an ardent love that longs to care for her.
Your presence in this publication gives us the on-going hope that the CHILD-HEART in everyone can reach out and do what it is that it does best—PLAY. For in the childlike heart and sense of play, fairness ends up triumphing over bullies. It may take time, but it winds up triumphing because the nature of the heart is able to find the most base, common denominator; and, it seeks to nurture life in that.
And so, by implication, we recognize that whenever people gather and collect in groups and communities and seek only to esteem the value of their one group over another’s, then we have not yet found the place of the heart. These poets have struggled to find the common ground that nurtures life. Bless them and their vision.
Our hope is our common effort here brings people to their heart on the issue of the earth; before it is too late. For, the heart is also capable of mourning.
Introduction
Tom’s Introduction
“But no matter how kindly we feel, we will never be able to participate
in healing the world around us as long as we keep seeing Nature
as something different from ourselves.”
—Gerald May, The Wisdom of the Wilderness
Growing up today is a complex task. Not only do we have to exert an immense sense of discernment and discrimination in regard to identity, sexuality, digital media/devices, terrorist threats, safety, political ambiguity, waning familial and social structures, financial instability, and unresolved healthcare issues (including plans and treatments), we have to be able to process all of this information and emerge with some sort of stable and hopeful outlook that will enable us to live among the open-endedness of the contemporary milieu.
WOW!
Add to that that we live in an age that gluts itself on the non-stop rendering of visual and audible media that reminds us of the dismal facts above on a round the clock basis and continual loop of replay. That is even tougher. That constant barrage makes it harder to hold out hope against all of the odds.
Then, there is the issue of the planet and its degradation. It is tied to the issue of our presence on the planet. How long will civilization—as we now know it—continue to survive? How long will it continue to survive as we now know and expect it to be? How long will we continue to mess up the earth?
Imagine how that must be for a child; how it must feel to know all of that. Imagine the constant portrayal of images they see about their world. Imagine having all the heaviness of that world woven into the simple pathways of life and nurturance. That world present in your growing up; woven into your overall health, well-being and development. Imagine how all of that world impacts the parents raising those children.
What kinds of songs would we sing to you—as a child in that world? What kinds of songs would you sing with your playmates in that world? What games would you play in that world? How would your spirit of hope be shaped by all of that constant harping of control, over-control, destruction, and mayhem in that world? What would the fabric of a childhood be made of in order to clothe it against these odds in that world?
You would have to sing some childhood songs that are dark and pick up where “Ashes, Ashes, We all fall down” left off. These are burdensome and oppressive times. It is a wonder that children can find the time to pretend in the sandbox, build forts and castles underneath forsythia bushes, and develop whole communities of imaginary friends that love them.
Hopefully they still can. It is worrisome when schools begin to remove recess and play from the life of our children.
Having grown up in the shadow of the BOMB and having provided supportive care to post Cold War generations of children and their parents (both in crisis), I have seen a lot of distrust and instability in people—individually and in communities. I have seen how the shadow of impending doom can rewrite a way that people live.
This distrust and instability is not a personal issue. It is a sign and symptom of having lived in a time when the imagination can harbor not simply notions of tribal decay and destruction, but the decay and destruction of all tribes, in all places, and throughout all future time. We can wipe out everything that exists within the realm of our planet—IN AN INSTANT. This changes who people are. This changes how people grow and develop.
The current earth crisis is large. It looms overhead and in our homes. It is more visible and prevalent than the crisis of THE BOMB. Everything we pick up and discard is a reminder that we have a problem. In many ways this crisis is more severe than THE BOMB. In this crisis everyone has a button they can push to bring destruction. We have more madmen to worry about. EVERYONE. Everyone has an impact on global ecologic and climate issues.
In some households, children will grow up with parents that