Member: patryan

In Praise of the Earth

Let us bless
The imagination of the Earth.
That knew early the patience
To harness the mind of time,
Waited for the seas to warm,
Ready to welcome the emergence
Of things dreaming of voyaging
Among the stillness of land.

And how light knew to nurse
The growth until the face of the Earth
Brightened beneath a vision of color.

When the ages of ice came
And sealed the Earth inside
An endless coma of cold,
The heart of the Earth held hope,
Storing fragments of memory,
Ready for the return of the sun.

Let us thank the Earth
That offers ground for home
And holds our feet firm
To walk in space open
To infinite galaxies.

Let us salute the silence
And certainty of mountains:
Their sublime stillness,
Their dream-filled hearts.

The wonder of a garden
Trusting the first warmth of spring
Until its black infinity of cells
Becomes charged with dream;
Then the silent, slow nurture
Of the seed's self, coaxing it
To trust the act of death.

The humility of the Earth
That transfigures all
That has fallen
Of outlived growth.

The kindness of the Earth,
Opening to receive
Our worn forms
Into the final stillness.

Let us ask forgiveness of the Earth
For all our sins against her:
For our violence and poisonings
Of her beauty.

Let us remember within us
The ancient clay,
Holding the memory of seasons,
The passion of the wind,
The fluency of water,
The warmth of fire,
The quiver-touch of the sun
And shadowed sureness of the moon.

That we may awaken,
To live to the full
The dream of the Earth
Who chose us to emerge
And incarnate its hidden night
In mind, spirit, and light.

~ John O'Donohue ~

posted by theoldman at 11:57 am (EST) on Apr 29, 2009

Thank you for accepting my friend request!
I appreciate very much your book and I wrote this review on my book http://blog.puntopanto.it/?p=225
May the english it's not perfect but I hope you could understand my comment!
It could be very nice if your book could be available also in Italian but unfortunately I am not a publisher ;-)

ciao
eleonora

posted by epanto at 12:31 pm (EST) on Jan 31, 2009

Apparently I don't check my library often either, Patricia. Just got your reply and thanks for writing. I was adding a few books to the library, mostly ones I brought home from work. I retired nearly a month ago.

About your book: the review in Headbutler said that it is being widely read on Wall Street.

I will look for Life is a Verb, maybe request that the library buy it. I still have a bit of influence there.

I would love to see you again, so please let me know when you will be speaking in Oregon.

Sincerely, Wyma Rogers

posted by janerogers at 3:56 am (EST) on May 25, 2008

What fun to find you here, Patricia. I was quite moved by your appearance at our library a couple of years ago. And lately your name/book keeps coming up. Just a couple of weeks ago I joined Headbutler and within days there was a rave on Improv Wisdom.

I see you have your photo and real name on your collection. When I retire from this small town public library I hope I will be more open about who I am - at least superficially anyway!

Thanks for your book, wisdom, and presence in our library and on librarything.

Wyma Rogers aka janehood

posted by janerogers at 3:15 pm (EST) on Mar 30, 2008