What would you do if this was your last day on Earth today?
Perhaps write a poem?
It is our perception of reality that determines so much of what we allow ourselves to accept or not accept, what we allow ourselves to believe or not believe, how much we allow ourselves to love or not to love.
Poems are wonderful transformers of perception.
Here are some poems about nature, Earth, and life that have been written at very different periods in time, and yet, there is something universal, something incredibly current, something worth paying attention to in each and every one of them, especially today.
A Minor Bird by Robert Frost (1874-1963)
I have wished a bird would fly away,
And not sing by my house all day;
Have clapped my hands at him from the door
When it seemed as if I could bear no more..
The fault must partly have been in me.
The bird was not to blame for his key.
And of course there must be something wrong
In wanting to silence any song.
From 7 Poems To Read In Honor Of Earth Day, Bustle, By E. Ce Miller, April 14, 2016
Ryokan (1758-1831)
When all thoughts
Are exhausted
I slip into the woods
And gather
A pile of shepherd’s purse.
From Dewdrops on a Lotus Leaf: Zen Poems of Ryokan, translated by John Stevens. Published by Shambala in Boston, 1996.
Basho (1644-1694)
Nothing in the cry
of cicadas suggests they
are about to die.
The bee emerging
from deep within the peony
departs reluctantly.
Summer grasses:
all that remains of great soldiers’
imperial dreams.
From The Essential Basho, Translated by Sam Hamill. Published by Shambala in Boston, 1999.
of cicadas suggests they
are about to die…”
Music: When Dragons Cry by Bo Johnson
Ikkyu (1394-1481)
My Hovel
The world before my eyes is wan and wasted, just like me.
The earth is decrepit, the sky stormy, all the grass withered.
No spring breeze even at this late date,
Just winter clouds swallowing up my tiny reed hut.
From Wild Ways: Zen Poems of Ikkyu, translated by John Stevens. Published by Shambala in Boston, 1995.
These Zen poems come from A Sampler of Zen Poetry. The author of this sampler says, “These are a few of my favorite poems by three of Japan’s greatest Zen monk-poets, Ikkyu (1394-1481), Basho (1644-1694), and Ryokan (1758-1831).”
They are indeed very beautiful and holy.
Today is Earth Day!
Go ahead, write a poem! Transcend space and time and perceptions of reality using nothing but your mind.
We never know when our last day on Earth will be.
Seize the moment, see more, feel your rightness in this moment, know you belong and you matter, right here, right now. You are it!
Feature Archetypal Animation
Fantasy Girl Rock Space Earth Moon Composing | Willgard | Willgard Krause • Age 58 • Lutherstadt Wittenberg/Deutschland • Member since Feb. 25, 2017 • #316
Space Galaxy Universe Sky Night Cosmos Star | gene1970 | English • Member since Dec. 10, 2017 • #385
Eagle Girl Moon Mountains Fantasy Dream | gene1970 | English • Member since Dec. 10, 2017 • #385
Astronaut Space Planets Astronomy Galaxy | gene1970 | English • Member since Dec. 10, 2017 • #385
Earth Blue Planet Globe Gaia Planet People | spirit111 | beate bachmann • Age 59 • berlin/germany • Member since April 6, 2017
Earth Universe Flammarion Science Spiritual | ChristianBodhi | Christian Bodhi • Santa Cruz De Tenerife, London/Spain and United Kingdom • Member since Aug. 19, 2018
Music: My Last Days on Earth | BL4CK7ACK
First Archetypal Animation
Kerala India Manipulated Bird Nature | ambadysasi | Ambady Sasi • Age 28 • Thodupuzha/India • Member since Nov. 15, 2017
Bird Singer Singing Chirp Tweet Chirrup Robin | Pfüderi | Age 30 • Schweiz • Member since March 24, 2014 • #810
Bird Songbird To Sing Spring Nature Park | jggrz | Jürgen • Age 66 • Thüringen/Deutschland • Member since Feb. 10, 2018 • #57
Bird Starling Crested Song Feathers Plumage | YK333 | Yadvendra Kumar • Age 62 • Delhi/India • Member since July 11, 2021
King Medieval Celebration Man Handsome | Wadams | William Adams • Age 69 • Manhattan/US • Member since April 20, 2015
Belgium Statue Knokke Beach Man On The Beach | pixel2013 | S. Hermann & F. Richter • Germany • Member since April 9, 2016
Music:
Music: A Minor Bird by Victoria Darian [1] A Minor Bird 5:08
Second Archetypal Animation
Canthigaster Cicada Fulgoromorpha Insect Trunk Long | Josch13 | Deutsch • Member since Aug. 17, 2013
Dragon Golden Dragon Statue Sculpture Art Artwork | Josch13 | Deutsch • Member since Aug. 17, 2013
Wild Bee Blossom Bloom Peony Close Up Yellow | jggrz | Jürgen • Age 66 • Thüringen/Deutschland • Member since Feb. 10, 2018 • #59
Mountain Field Sky Agriculture Nature Countryside | SwidaAlba | Leng Kangrui • Age 23 • Beijing/China • Member since Feb. 13, 2018
Poppy Flower Nature Wild Flower Wild Flowers Field | Candiix | CANDICE CANDICE • Français • Member since Nov. 19, 2017
Warrior Fallen Combat Dead Injured Viking | Garyuk31 | Gary Chambers • Age 52 • English • Member since Oct. 25, 2015
Carving Stone Rock Stone Carving Dragon China | PublicDomainPictures | English • Member since Dec. 11, 2010
Music: When Dragons Cry by Bo Johnson [1] When Dragons Cry 4:32
Third Archetypal Animation
Apocalypse Clouds End Time Atmospheric Mystical | Mysticsartdesign | Mystic Art Design • Deutsch • Member since July 3, 2014
Skin Eye Iris Blue Older Folds Wrinkled Skin Man | analogicus | Tom • Andernach/Deutschland • Member since Feb. 25, 2018 • #144
Wood Statue Sculpture Statue Wooden | terimakasih0 | Dean Moriarty • Age 67 • cardiff/United Kingdom • Member since Dec. 3, 2014
Thunderstorm Weather Storm Thunder Lighting Bolts | Inactive account – ID 12019
Nature Straw Hay Grass Field Wet How Come Swamp | EM80 | Deutsch • Member since March 13, 2015
Lakeside Reed Hut Timber Construction Piles | webentwicklerin | Gabriele Lässer • Österreich • Member since June 18, 2012
Mushrooms Moss Fungi Lichen Forest Nature | adege | Andreas • Age 65 • Gelterkinden/Schweiz • Member since April 3, 2017 • #128
Music: Time Travelers Coyote Oldman [1] Time Travelers 8:04[2] Dark Beauty 5:07[3] Peaceful Blue 4:09 [4] The Fourth Dream 5:26