Things to remember as this world dies

 

Things to remember as this world dies

you did not come here to pay bills and die
nor did you come to build the fortunes
of those destroying the Earth

Imagine instead
that you came to gather precious things
fallen from the pockets of Ancient Ones
as they fled the desert’s march -
each a reminder of something
they pledged never to forget

Things like
how to call birds by name with your whistle
which news to tell the bees
and which to share only with the moon
how to tell a parliament from a conspiracy
a colony from a convocation

Things like
Nature has no race or nation, class or creed
except when humans seek to deceive -
division designed to sever you
from kith and kin and buddha-mind

Things like:
the antidote to oppression
is not freedom but belonging
the opposite of domination is communion
the medicine you need
is always outside your door
and there’s likely a wise woman
two streets away
to show you how to use it

These things were left to help us remember
how each world before has ended
and how each death became a door to new life
and how this world wants to take you in her arms
and make of you a lover
and have you listen to the land
talk to the stream
find meaning in the silence of trees
and wisdom on the singing breeze

Listen awhile to discover
the right season for all the ten thousand things
the ninety-nine names we use for our own divinity
how to share power
so it cannot be captured by the vain and greedy
how to step into the flow of life
and make of the Earth a common treasury for all beings
how to map the stars
learn the lesson of each constellation
and still know there is more in heaven and earth
than any of us were ever meant to know

So fill your pockets as this world dies
knowing some of it will guide you to the next
and some will fall to the ground
in time to be found
by those who’ll bring the world back to life.~

~Chris Taylor