Each day we inspire the damp breath
of our earth mother, we give thanks
for this precious existence;
Living as we do in the lap
of lovely Lemuria, we accept gratefully
the comfort of her fleshy brown hands,
voluminous lap; soaking up nurturance
in her round soundness, feeling
the free-flowing energy
of her infinite love;
Once I was raised to believe it was Father
God I needed, though structure and form were
innately imbued in my regimented mind as well
as the stultifying self hatred at not being
some version of myself that others found
more pleasing;
In my garden I reign supreme,
yet this rule boasts no hierarchy, there
is no egoic right or wrong, some live or die
on their own terms despite my best intentions,
and we flow in harmony with birdsong,
flowers blooming in abundant profusion,
fruit hanging heavy on sumptuously
laden boughs, and it is Eden, I know
no wanting beyond this half-acre
which stills even the restless mercurial mind;
If there is peace on earth, there is peace
within it, hands diving deep
into rich volcanic soil where fecundity
arises from the mess of decomposition,
worms and bugs and excrement;
all of it, all – emerging from clouds of grey dust
blown out of Pele’s fiery nostrils
as thick braids of black lava stretch
ropy tendrils into a smoking turquoise sea.
image copyrighted by Bela Johnson, 2016
“Each day we inspire the damp breath of our earth mother, we give thanks for this precious existence;”. Oh, that is too wonderful for words. (Ignoring the inherent contradiction in my reply!)
Haha, and yet we still attempt to convey it thusly 😉 Thanks, Paul! Aloha <3
Beautiful Bela. As always your imagery makes the powerful and wild forces of nature connect to the human spirit in a personal way.
Mahalo, Swarn. I’m glad you appreciate these image/words. They are somehow always ready to spill forth from my dirt-encrusted fingertips 😉 xo
Wonderfully rich poem, every line. I love this, Bela! Paradise indeed, we only need look down at the earth beneath our feet. 🥀💕
Mahalo, Betty. Indeed the earth beneath our feet is what these bodies require to maintain this tenuous existence. Thanks, sweetie. <3
‘Damp breath of mother earth’ Quite a line. Sounds like mother earth leaves its mark on all of us in one way or another…and different parts of her roll into it. No right or wrong…in a perfect world that would be, but nothing is perfect…still no reason why we can’t work towards that 💙
Aloha Mabel – and yes, in city and in forest, we depend on earth to survive. Personally though, I prefer living close to her beating heart 😉 😘
So beautiful yet again, my friend.
I love the way you always take such earthy emotions and lace together such rich, fertile images into a fecund whole to nourish the soul.
And the inspiration of such an awe-inducing image… Wow! To bring the earth and dampness of the opening back together again in such a violent and hissing culmination…To bring such creation out of such decay…. This was truly Masterful.
Thank you, James 🙏🏽 That is the beauty of Hawaii island – the rich, verdant uplands and the lava-encrusted shorelines; the fog-shrouded fern forests giving way to flowing lava, headed down to the sea to create land as we breathe in and out. It’s an amazing place to live, and well inspires much reverie and poetic verse. I am glad you are moved by such reflections; it demonstrates to me that you are engaged in what James Hillman calls the work of the soul. Blessed be! <3
What inspires you to write so descriptively about her beauty, and the unstructured beauty with which she grows, must be so beautiful a vision to actually behold!
Vidur, it IS a vision to behold. We have been blessed to live in some of the most extraordinary places – so rich with beauty and magic. Thank you for appreciating this precious earth. Aloha.
I can ‘feel’ this Bela:
If there is peace on earth, there is peace
within it, hands diving deep
Very nice.
I find my peace in astronomy, music, family, and the river. The river was so much a part of my life for so long I can’t get it out of my system. Anyone up for a boat ride?
Me. Up. Standing, watching the river roll. Running rapids as well – I do miss our wild rivers in Maine. I still have a kevlar canoe there on our lakefront property we’re selling. Because at 6000 miles away, we don’t and are not likely to go back and forth. I grew up swimming across the Colorado at a narrow point – swim, walk double, swim back to account for the current. I loved tubing and being picked up a-way down river. Some don’t like the weeds – I loved every part of that river experience.
So here it’s the ocean. And it’s relatively clean compared to other tourist destinations in the world. Where we live the currents are strong, thus the water is super clear. Water, in any case, is my healer. Every night in the bath, too – after a hard day’s labors in the garden.
Thanks for visiting and commenting – I see your comments on blogs I read and love, and appreciate your voice. Aloha 🏝
Vividly descriptive. The Hawaiian vista must be a vast mix of beauty and treacherous landscape. Thank you!
Thank you, Renee, for appreciating this offering. 💞
Such a delight to read Bela.. indeed our Earth Mother’s breath a most precious thing.. And you are right, no matter how we rule within our own garden.. The balance of nature has rules all of her own,,.. I see it so many times, within the webs and under leaves..
And as she whips up her winds to buffet us, there are some that bend and some that break.. But this is Nature, always reshaping, always reforming, growing, never still.. Change is constant.. and we humans forget we are all part of our Earth Mother.
We build our homes near oceans that swell, we build near rivers that flood, we are but like the insects under the leaves, who on a daily basis have their homes dismantled to rebuild again.. as they seek higher ground or shelter from the storm..
Nature also shows us how to capture that Peacefulness, for her beauty is to be admired as we soak up her Sun, breathe in her fragrances, as she gives us the most precious gift of all, The gift of Life in each breath we take..
A wonderful Rapture you have given us Bela.. One that brought a smile to my soul..
Love and Peace..
Blessings Sue <3 💜💚
The show must go on — “…some live or die on their own terms despite my best intentions, and we flow in harmony with birdsong, flowers blooming in abundant profusion…” – Give it our best and that includes intentions, too. Nice 🙂
Yes, it’s that mindful awareness that allows us to witness what we have co-initiated into being through our intentions. But you know that already 😉 xo
A delicate, heartfelt paean to the small corner of this earth that so obviously nurtures your deeper seeing into life — granting too the freedom of a desireless life, so it seems — the same echoes of which always being a pure delight to hear. H <3
Thank you, dearest H. Yes, a desireless life, much as one can be had these days. I’m definitely in my hermit phase, for however long that lasts. Sending you love and warmth across the considerable waters. 🐳⛩💙
In your garden, you reign supreme – how fortunate your subjects are, Bela, doing just as they please, knowing that their Queen understands their wants and needs, and allows them to grow and develop freely – oh that all kingdoms were like that! 🙂
Beautifully descriptive and a joy to read!
Haha, yes – I had a Vedic astrologer read my chart once and she said I had been royalty in many past lives. So I find your comment quite amusing – here the queen has willingly walked down from her golden throne, cast off her robes and golden slippers and walked barefoot into the red soil of Hawaii Island to raise food and flowers to share with the masses(!) Of course gardens respond – they love having help to scatter their progeny far and wide! 😀 <3
I’m intrigued about your being ‘royalty’ in many past lives Bela. Was she any more specific? Like were you Queen Eliabeth I – she had red hair!!:) I did a quiz on the Internet which claimed to tell you who you were in a past life and depending on how I answered the questions, I was a ‘pirate’ in one life, and a ‘cat’ in another!!!!LOL
Have a ‘simple’ and fabulous day, Bela💚💕
Haha, not QEI – I have a theory. Hmmm … how long should this comment be … I don’t think any of us ‘is’ someone and ‘returns’ as a particular person, per se, simply because there is an increasing number of souls in body with each succeeding generation. It’s more like, hmmm, perhaps i was a few atoms in the armpit of so-and-so … At any rate, the north and south nodes of the moon in one’s astrology chart point to destiny in this life (north) and past life patterns (south) or some would call it ‘incarnations.’ Jan Spiller’s book on the north node is excellent, though having some astrology savvy might be helpful; still, a great read: https://www.amazon.com/Astrology-Soul-Bantam-Classics-Spiller/dp/0553378384/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1506368468&sr=8-1&keywords=jan+spiller
So the astrologer was reading my south node of Leo.
Aloha, dear Marie! <3
Very interesting, Bela! I shall check that book out. I must say I am really intrigued about all this ‘past lives’ stuff, and I’m not really sure what I think about it all. I do wonder what happens to all the souls that have ever incarnated, and if you do come back as other people, what happens if loved ones search for you when they pass, only to find that you are back on earth as someone else …:) Maybe I’m overthinking this …💚💕
I think whatever we conceive, it is far more vast than that. So I try and keep an open view with regards to anything fixed. There are worlds beyond and within worlds, and if one considers parallel realities, there is no end to speculation. I would love to sit over a cuppa with you one day and discuss it, should it ever happen that we are on the same shores 😉 Hours later, we would still be talking. And talking … ! 💜
I would absolutely love that Bela. There is so much more to life than we can ever conceive of and so much mystery – I am totally overwhelmed just imagining what could be out there, plus all the stuff I’ve read up on – some which sound so far-fetched. But it’s funny me saying that, because I’ve had so many paranormal experiences which I used to tell people about – and they looked at me as if I was insane or just plain disbelieved me! So just because it might sound far-fetched to others – it doesn’t mean that it isn’t true/possible. Maybe one day ….or failing that, we can have a chat over on ‘the other side’ when that happens, providing we still remember each other …lol
Oh, I suspected as much. If you’re born in 53 (which your wp handle alludes to), so was I. And we Snakes do have vision, most of us. I was going to get into the whole ‘interdimensional vision’ thing, but thought better of it – could be lengthy(!) So yes, I’ve seen evidence to lead me to believe what I do today. I used to have a great black and white bumper sticker I picked up in some goth shop in the mall in Maine 😉 On my black Audi quattro (license plate: OTHELO – only 6 letters could be used), there I placed it, “Some things exist whether you believe in them or not.” I loved LOVED that sticker!
And it’s so funny – I was going to suggest the same thing – that we might one day have that convo on ‘the other side.’ !! Oh, my – you are a sister by another mother in so many ways! 😀 xoxo
Spot on! I am indeed a Snake. How cool about your bumper sticker! It was obviously meant for you to buy it. It wouldn’t have worked so well if the license plate had read : HAMLET huh? :)))
Ok – it’s a deal: if we don’t meet up in this life, let’s look out for each other in the next, and just to verify that we are who we say we are, we can wave an hanky at each other …lol xoxo
;D
Gardens of all kinds are like a love affair between ourselves and Mother Earth. No wonder they give us the inner peace that lingers in every line of this poem.
And isn’t that the truth! Thanks for such a lovely compliment 😊