Life Web

Young children
say ‘Hi’ to squirrels,
butterflies, plants, bees –
converse with ducks,
trees, the creek
They cry when we kill spiders
My granddaughter talked to
flowers, chairs, her toys
until she was five

They know their place in
the web of life
They know Oneness –
don’t divide ordinary and
extraordinary,
animate and inanimate,
superior and inferior

Young children know there
is deep wise knowing in
every form
and in the formless,
that a wise web
connects us all

When I remember to
dethrone my ‘self,’
break the spell of
separateness,
remember that I am
birdsong and the
sycamore roots,
that I am the moaning
glaciers and grieving
elephants –
I am humbled

I remember my place

---

Questions for Contemplation

Is there a line or phrase in this poem that is evocative for you? If you’d like to explore this further, write the words on a blank page. Then take a few minutes to relax and quiet your mind. When you’re ready, write whatever comes to you in response to these words without censoring or analyzing what you are writing.

Then reflect on what you wrote and become aware of any feelings or images that are evoked in you. You can either write them down and engage in some more free writing or just contemplate the images and/or feelings.

---