Would you tell a lily
to be a rafflesia or a magpie
to be a hornbill?
One radical belief that I have is that love, compassion and sympathy are ways to resist the slow, catastrophic destruction of our public and private lives.
When the brown tongue of water
rises up to meet us here,
the house will be gone.
Introduction to tree shaman series
cut/scar
resonant wound
place/displaced
As the day mellowed, the honeyeaters
sang out and we braided a future
from stalks, knowing, once more,
that endless summer brought cold comfort.
It is almost evening. Wind-woven birds call
over the fields, the sky turns a gentle grey--
Mother’s voice a low melody, her footfall
on the chalky steps speaks of the fleeting day…
More than ever today however, I believe that artists and writers need to question, challenge and examine how humanity continues to devour, deplete and destroy the earth’s bounty in its quest for modernity and progress.