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Category: “Wild and Precious Life”

April 29, 2020

“Take care of your link with life” – Buffy Sainte-Marie

blue-sky-1932

   “Blue Sky“ (1932) 

 

         Emily Carr

 

             _____

 


while on the topic of alternate 

mythologies, look what I found, 

a poem of Buffy Sainte-Marie

on our present collective 

crisis

 

the faith is that of our indigenous

brothers and sisters, who’ve

managed to keep their ancient

stories alive despite years of 

intense political and official 

opposition

 

their lore was never ever less effective

than Roman lore was to the Romans,

Sainte-Marie‘s Mother Nature no less

noble and inspirational than Juno,

queen of Rome’s Heaven, nor, for 

that matter, than to Catholics their 

Virgin Mary

 

listen

 


Take care of your link with life

 

         Hold your head up
         Lift the top of your mind
         Put your eyes on the Earth
         Lift your heart to your own home planet
         What do you see?
         What is your attitude
         Are you here to improve or damn it
         Look right now and you will see
         We’re only here by the skin of our teeth as it is

         So take heart and take care of your link with life 
         It ain’t money that makes the world go round
         That’s only temporary confusion
         It ain’t governments that make the people strong
         It’s the opposite illusion
         Look right now and you will see
        They’re only here by the skin of their teeth as it is
        So take heart and take care of your link with Life

 

         Life is beautiful
         If you’ve got the sense to take care of your source of protection
         Mother Nature
         She’s the daughter of God and the source of all protection
         Look right now
         And you will see she’s only here by the skin of her teeth as it is
         So take heart and take care of your link with life

 

         And carry it on
         We’re saying
         And carry it on
         And keep playing
         And carry it on
         And keep praying
         And carry it on

 

                                   Buffy Sainte-Marie   


 

R ! chard


 

 

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October 4, 2013

blog alert: “Wild & Precious Life”

wherein “Wild & Precious Life” describes herself 

 
     “My love for poetry is simple but at the same time, hard to
      explain. I was drawn to it from an early age however, with
      questionable motives. In my young eyes, the appreciation
      of poetry personified sophistication, poise and intelligence.
      And so I became that nine year old reciting lines from Dylan
      Thomas poems even though I had yet to live enough life to
      truly understand the deeper themes. But I continued my
      poetry admiration, convinced that I looked wise beyond
      my years. Believe me,  the irony of it is not lost on me now……
 
      And then those life experiences that one needs to truly
      understand poetry came knocking, and at times pounding
      on my door. Some were welcomed but many were not, but
      with them came my true love of poetry.
 
      I now read poetry for a simple and unequivocal reason – it
      makes me feel connected to something tangible but at the
      same time larger than myself. When I am sad, overwhelmed,
      lost, lovelorn, confused, I turn to it. I’ll read a beautiful
      composition of words and suddenly realize that I am not
      the first or last person to feel such things and that calms me,
      gives me hope and makes me feel gratitude.
 
      That having been said, this website is a simple collection of
      beautiful words. They are poems, quotes, lyrics and excerpts
      that have resonated with me. They are words that have made
      me smile, laugh, cry and sometimes simply take pause. I hope
      you enjoy the website, lovingly titled [Wild & Precious Life] –
      the closing lines of [Mary Oliver’s The Summer Day]: 
 
 
                  Doesn’t everything die at last, and too soon?
                            Tell me, what is it you plan to do
                  with your one wild and precious life? “
 
                                 ___________________
 
 
 
what I needed to reply
 
 
      coming from a small town in the middle of
      nowhere, I aspired even then to discover
      what the rest of the world was thinking,
      admired, why had literary giants become
      legends, even archetypes, what were the
      parameters 
 
      poetry ever however seemed especially
      sterile, odes, for goodness’ sake, on 
      Grecian urns, I ask you, I, a budding
      person before the unfolding world
 
      abstract art too was pretty questionable, 
      though I persisted, diligently probing 
      afield for convincing, manifest, arguments,
      the world couldn’t be so wrong
 
      until here and there a bud would blossom,
 
      I now read poetry just to find out what
      other hearts are thinking    
 
      some say quite wonderful things   
   
 
      ever the best 
 
      Richard 
 
      psst:  I’ve subscribed, by the way, to your 
              “Wild and Precious“ adventure
 
               many thanks
  
 
 
Richard
 
 
 
 
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