'Spirits of the Soul'

By Art of the Diver

Thu, 02 Jul 2015
  • 2580 reads
6 comments
 

There are those who feel that progress is always achieved, when the development of 'empty' land is considered to be the most logical option, in satisfying the greater human needs that come from population growth. As such, the overall impact of change though sold as positive progress, is seldom genuinely measured within the full reaches of that change. In nature's terms, the land is never empty. Since the beginning of time, that land has supported its own unique eco-system, one completely reliant upon subtle balances being maintained by all those creatures living at grassroots level. They are the 'others' who are most affected, not only feeling and seeing, but also knowing that those changes do not represent positive progress; instead they herald the death of the land's soul.

‘Spirits of the Soul’

 

Thunder moves ever further away – fading

as does its faithful ochre waked cloud

formed within the spirit of the hoof

Painted Lakota retrieve feathered arrows

dressed spears, from the flanks of the beast

Blood nourished grasses blessed once more

Everything in hearty gratefulness shared

the children will be fed – warm in new hides

the roaming buffalo will not starve - thus return

And balance on the plains will again ~ prevail

 

                                     *~ Pearldiver ~

 

Copyright © 2015 Art of the Diver with all rights reserved

Certificate 12
Poem
Western
Nature
Love
Inspiration Point (work that responds to our weekly writing cue)

Comments

Submitted by Silver Spun Sand on

This is so beautiful...Especially liked, 'faithful ochre waked cloud'.  Thought provoking and inspiring.

Tina

 

Submitted by Art of the Diver on

Hi Tina

Thank you for your lovely comment, I do appreciate the compliment. It is a poignant piece when taken from the Soiux Indian's perspective as their ancestors became the other creatures of plains, to always ensure that life was balanced and plentiful... then came the settlers and the army... It is a tribute to a Lakota friend I am lucky to know. Cheers Tina glad you enjoyed it... take care

Rob

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Hi Rob,

your poems are always reflective of what you see and feel. This one arouses my feelings for nature, being one who suffers a great sorrow when yet another tree is cut down, that has maybe stood for many years and deserves to be there.

I also feel a close bond with the Soiux Indians, having known many in my time, but sadly all of them have either moved on or died. There can be nothing more sadder than to watch humans upsetting the balance of nature, which in many cases can never be restored. Very Sad!

Thank you for sharing this one, I feel better for venting my feelings, hope you didn't mind.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by Art of the Diver on

Hi Jenny,

Yes they are for some reason - I never know whether that's a good or bad thing thing though... it's got me in a bit of trouble before today - I do tend to tell it as I see it and usually too directly (probably, tactlessly actually) for the guilty party... but life's too short and there aren't enough parties to have to put up with other people's BS, especially when they act with careless disregard for others. I have a smile on my face as I'm writing this, coz I remember frog matching the local food safety inspector out of my shop by the scruff of his collar and seat of his pants a couple of years ago. He walked in at 4.55 pm on a Friday, lay his dirty briefcase down on our clean prep bench and announced that he was there to do an inspection! On our busiest evening... unbelievable! So I unbelievabled him back and threw his Frank Spencer bag out after him! He stunk of booze and had had the whole day... my customers and staff clapped and cheered.

So there you go Jenny... venting is all good... it's something we're all capable of, as you can see by the size of this post! smiley You know the old men all believed the land would fight back and that until it did, their ancestors spirits would never rest... so in tune with every blade of grass to the point of always offering the earth a piece of whatever they ate... Thanks so much for taking the time and enjoying this piece M'lady J... when I look at how much we've both written - we could've had a picnic! Cheers and take care

Rob

Submitted by Deliberately Ev... on

I love this poem - there is something very comforting about the simplicity. "Children will be fed - warm in new hides". If only we could be so grateful for life's necessities rather than all the faff that we surround ourselves with.

The beat of your heart is the mellifluent rhythm to my soul.

Submitted by Art of the Diver on

Hi Holly, sorry to be so late in my reply. Thank you for pointing that out, as it is an important part of the message I was attempting to relay in this piece. We have as a society, generally lost the magic of self sufficiency based on and in tune with nature. Perhaps today materialistic bubbles and beads are ultimately deemed to be the true value of our spirit lost. Glad you enjoyed. Take care... Rob