ILLUMINATION SPECIAL PROJECTS | GAIA AND FOOD
Tears, Gravity and Easy Food
A poem about growing our own food. Tears for the times we’re in, action taken for the times ahead. An abundant future.
No wind.
No breeze.
No movement of my heavy hair.
My tears are drawn by gravity.
They land next to my feet on covered soil.
I really hope the plants won’t hate the salt, and still want to feed me.
The heat is oppressive.
My sweat is dripping my salt on fertile soil some more.
The red wheelbarrow is at my feet.
White chickens roam around, glad to have escaped their pen.
The weeds get trampled by their tiny claws.
Soil wisdom.
Fierce collaboration between human, animal, plant, and spirit.
Through the mist of tears and shouting politicians, I resolve.
The first breeze of the day wipes my tears away.
Gaia’s whispering.
Tomorrow we’ll eat zucchini.
Because it’s easy to grow on our local soil.
And I have to start somewhere…
Inspiration
My recent article about Vandana Shiva still resonates with me. Food as a weapon of war. We cannot let that happen. And it’s up to us all to take a stand and do it differently. All of us in our local communities. Be involved in local food projects. Grow food ourselves or support our local farmers.
So I’ll be writing with Tree Langdon in her special project on Urban Food. Don’t worry, I’m living in the countryside as you’ll have guessed from this poem, but I have lots of goodies up my sleeve for the urban environment as well.
The Red Wheelbarrow
The red wheelbarrow and the chickens in this poem are a loose reference to The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams. I first heard of him when Carol Piasente commented on my first Abecedarian “Poetry in Motion”.
I was so flattered that she compared my poetry with his simple language and clear images, that he stuck in my mind. And I was inspired to read more from William. And from Carol.
Here’s one of Carol’s beautiful stories for you to enjoy. Whales are such wise animals. And dreams, whether sleeping or awake, are so important in our lives. She combines it all with a suspenseful real-life story.
Gaia Has My Back
And of course, I’m inspired by Gaia, as always. So, I tag you along, my Gaian friends. If you want out of the tag, just let me know and I’ll remove you from further stories.
Dr John Rose, Dr Mehmet Yildiz, Amy Marley, Lanu Pitan, Carlotta Manzoni, Chris Hedges, Henery X (long), Agnes Laurens, Maria Antoanela Ionita, Infiniti, Livia Dabs, Eli Snow, Robert Nelson, Martine Weber, Christyl Rivers, Phd., Supriya Verma, Elisabeth Khan, Keno Ogbo, Ann K Frailey, Eliot Kersgaard, Francesca Brandani, Kayli Kunkel, Lets Save Earth, Chowa Sekai, Suntonu Bhadra, Mathias Barra, FILZA CHAUDHRY, Nomanono Isaacs, Jhon Munoz, Mike Alexander, Selma, Paul Myers MBA, Sylvia Love Johnson, Joe Luca, Rasheed Hooda, Bob Jasper, Kathryn A. LeRoy, Ph.D., Tree Langdon ♾️, Tim Maudlin, Trista Ainsworth, Aurora Eliam, CMP, B. A. Cumberlidge. Blaine Coleman. Kenneth Silvestri. Karen Madej💛, Ashok Subramanian.
If you want to connect, you can find me on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or my website. Or somewhere dreaming of whales…