Hug a Tree

Ever wonder what it's like to be a tree?
I have.
I talk with them,
Say hello,
Ask after their health.

If I were a tree,
I would want someone
To come around
Say hello,
Ask after my health.

Sometimes,
They say hello back,
In their own silent way.

Humans like to think
They are separate from nature,
They have to go out
Into nature

Wrong.

I am nature.
Where I stand,
Nature is.
Where ever I go,
Nature is there.

Quality is what individuals see.
So,
Go out there,
See.
Hug a tree.

(Written February 12, 2003)

posted by Cassandra 6:04 PM

. . .

Rain

Standing in the rain
The wind whipping my hair
Pretend
It's a March day,
I'm standing outside
Waiting.

But stand there,
Still,
Listening,
Feeling,
Being at peace
For a moment
In the rain.
Occasionally the sun
But rain,
Good real rain,
It's comfortable.
A sense of reality,
Of being,
Of being a human being in a world of nature,
In this world.

Like getting back
To where we were
When
There were no nations,
No atomic bombs,
No food shortages that kill off millions,
No global warming,
No racism,
None of this that we take for granted,
That we cannot put away,
That we made for ourselves.

I know
It isn't real,
And when it was real,
It was nothing
Like anything
I can imagine.

It was hard,
It was bare,
It was pure,
But deadly.

Doesn't change
Desire to enjoy
Pure essence of human
None of these constructions

I'm not like those
Who like to pretend
If they say
They don't believe
They'll go away.

I know they're there,
But if I close my eyes in the rain
Just listen to the wind,
The birds,
The earth,
Listen
To my own heartbeat
Breath
I remember
Underneath every construction
Lies a human being,
Just like me,

I feel comforted,
Alone,
But not,
In this animal,
But not,
World.

(Written February 12, 2003)

posted by Cassandra 6:00 PM

. . .

Enough

Let my heart be strong
And guide when I cannot see the way,
When I cannot hear the truth,
When I despair of my future,
When my heart is troubled and pained,

Let me always remember
The power within me will never die,
And there will never be a winter so harsh,
That spring will not come.

It is difficult,
This thing,
But I'm here,
Doing,
Being,
For now,
That is enough.

I have yet to give up.
And I have yet to fail.
Time will tell if that is enough.

(Written February 10, 2003, inspired by Loreena McKennitt's "Breaking the Silence)

posted by Cassandra 10:52 AM

. . .

Pioneering

There's not a lot to say
It's difficult to continue working
As a pioneer
Things seem so confused,
Scary,
Painful

Always remember
Through difficulties we grow,
Through difficulties we become
Outstanding people

Difficutly has shown me
Once again
Need for objectivity,
Need for information,
Need for trust,
Need for thinking before acting
All are hard,
I know
I can develop more
I can do it.
I must do it,
To protect my school,
My friends,
My community.

I will not allow
This little experiment
To fail,
To fall,
To disassemble itself from the inside.

Something I can do to make it work,
I will do it.
No matter what!

There is too much here of value to let it slip away.

(Written February 9, 2003)

posted by Cassandra 11:38 PM

. . .