I took a walk yesterday into areas of my landscape that have lain fallow to my attention. We forget, I think, how environment shapes our senses. How it narrows or broadens our vision. How it points to what is truly there and what is constructed from our desire.
In a lovely bookstore in Santa Fe, I came across the poems of Joy Harjo which illuminate this sense of connecting with the earth, sun and sky. I hope you like them.
~~~
Fire
a woman can’t survive
by her own breath
alone
she must know
the voices of mountains
she must recognize
the foreverness of blue sky
she must flow
with the elusive
bodies
of night winds
who will take her
into herself
look at me
i am not a separate woman
i am the continuance
of blue sky
i am the throat
of the mountains
a night wind
who burns
with every breath
she takes
from How We Became Human: New and Selected Poems: 1975-2001
108zenbooks 
Men, too, are like this.
Yes. Absolutely! I must say though this is the first female voice speaking to the feminine that I haven’t found exclusionary of the male voice.
Thank you for saying this Barry.
Mark
I too am re-discovering this “connection” to Nature, and thus to Beingness ItSelf (our True Nature),.. Beautiful poem! I love the line “…I am not separate…I am the continuance of the sky” – and men too (smiling)…
Just reading the story of Genghis Khan and the animist practice of the Great Blue Sky. Boundless!
beautiful poem. love your river! I too have been neglecting my landscape, I could come up with lots of reasons, but that’s simply chatter. To be with the wild things, alone, yes that is important. when we don’t do this, some part of ourselves is hungry, perhaps missing, as this poem reminds us.
Been a long time since I’ve walked along the edge of that river. It is good to be back in the flow!
Beautiful Poem. Yet another wonderful poet I’ve never heard of. Thanks for the introduction. And the reminder that I need to get out more…
I think of “snow branches” often when I’m out in the woods. Thank you for inspiring these walks!
Not much snow out here on the Wet Coast these days – been thinking of renaming the blog ‘Rain Branches’ 🙂
With ZDS walking in a rain forest and you without snow, I am not going to complain about the slush here in the Least Coast!
I can feel and understand this wide and beautiful poem!
Thank you!
Renée
Renee! Happy New Year. So nice to connect with you. Glad you like the poem!