Thank You Mother Earth

for reminding us

that we are based

on vibrant living matter.

For causing us

to leap and dance

and also dancing with us.

Often we have curled

into your body

sucking on your milk

pinching you with fingers nails and toes.

And when the blanket shifted

as you stretched

we perched upon your knees

or grabbed your hair.

But then when your stiff limbs

cracked

we slithered in your tears

and lost hold.

Thank you Mother Earth

for teaching us resilience

and fragility.

Did you feel the pain of it?

We do.

Christchurch 22.O2.2011

Today seemed a good day to come back after a long break. I have been off the page for a while all sorts of things and then an accident which gave me an enforced break. All on the mend now thanks to all the wonderful care and help I received. Felt very sad reliving this event today…sad for the people who were lost most of all and their loved ones; sad for the problems people have had since getting houses repaired etc. We are so vulnerable living here on Mother Earth, Papatūānuku, as we call her in Aotearoa New Zealand. We are all so dependent on nature and nature is all powerful. We tend to forget that. I personally am in awe of the power of nature, and also grateful to be a survivor of such an unforgettable event,which is why I wrote the above as a thank you poem, because mostly the natural world puts up with a great deal from us humans.  And meanwhile although I no longer live in Christchurch this beautiful city and its people are in my heart and thoughts today.