Earth Shaman’s Plea
I cast my thoughts to the heavens,
seek succor from the stars,
that they might hear my plight,
send solutions to a soul
wounded to its core, yet unwilling
to cast from its presence the scourge
that has brought this plague upon it.
Are not all elements essential to being,
each one a part of my whole? While some
have fallen to circumstance, making way
for others with a nature more fitting
to my own, these place upon me
scars that cannot be erased,
that jeopardize their own existence.
Should they exhaust all that I have
to offer, leaving nothing but desolation
in their wake, what is their next course?
To die with me? To leave me behind,
leaping from world to world, then on
to the very stars to whom I beseech?
Are they destined to know the same fate?
This poem is my response to Wounded Healer: Songs of the Earth Shaman, where Brendan says, “I can’t help wondering if the wounded healer for such global malaise is the Earth herself, a damaged wholeness, borne of human madness and the terrible spells of the Sorcerer’s Apprentice — air conditioning and solo vehicles, plastic wrappers and nuclear bombs. Maybe the song we need to hear and emulate is the wounded Earth’s?” “What and where are the wombs formed in the wounds of sea level rise and wildfire, mass extinction and ocean acidification? What then are the Songs of the Earth Shaman?”
Image source: vox.com
rivrvlogr 
You ask good questions …
I cross my fingers and heart that my life does more good than harm – well aware I am at best only partially aware of distingishing good from harm – the very least I can do is pay attention – this poem is a nudge to stay on that track.
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Thank you, Jazz.
Yes, we can use a good nudge, from time to time.
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I read an article this morning that said astronauts going to Mars and beyond would be subject to so much cosmic radiation they would be likely to get cancer. It made me think that our true place is here on Earth. Just how we manage to do continue to do that in a way that will be healthy for all, including the planet remains to be seen.
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I imagine it could get pretty costly to launch a lead-lined ship.
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Yes, indeed!
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So many questions we keep failing to answer. (K)
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While we pack the starships and fire up the engines.
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Leave the mess behind and go make another one somewhere else.
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I don’t think we stand much chance out in the cosmos when we make such a mess of a perfectly habitable planet. It’s a shame really!
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It’s easy to believe it will just become another litter box.
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We either die of our questions or dance the answer. Shamanic initiation ain’t easy for sure …
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Indeed.
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A wonderful response to the challenge. I hope earth’s plea is heard, and soon.
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Thank you. Time will tell.
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A powerful response, Ken, in which I can hear the agony of a ‘soul wounded to its core’. Earth is forgiving and it’s no surprise that it is ‘unwilling to cast from its presence the scourge that has brought this plague upon it’, although humans extend their inconsiderate pollution and destruction to the rest of the universe. The final question is yet to be answered.
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Thank you, Kim. Even “well-intentioned” efforts go astray. Take cover this week, as we wait for the Chinese rocket to fall to Earth!
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I too, wonder if the earth is a shaman, must part of earth die to be reborn with mystical powers to overcome what is on the road ahead. Just pondering…
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There are lots of mystical questions in the poem and that have come from the poem. Very powerful!
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🙂 Thank you.
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