Thursday, April 23, 2020

everyday is Earth day


“Tara with the Sun and the Moon”

By Toni Truesdale

In the beauty above us are the Sun, Moon, and Stars.

In the cities we forget the multitude of the universe,

for the light, noise, and pollution veil the night.

This firmament is so huge,

we cannot but feel the joy of creation

and the awe of our own smallness

compared to the infinite.

Yet each of us are part of this whole.

The sun lights our day and nourishes all life on earth.

The Moon illuminates our nights

and creates cycles by which we live.

Water listens to the changes of the Moon.

It is no wonder, all people have

told stories about heavenly beings,

the constellations have the history of

humanity just in their names.

When we climb the mountain,

is it not to feel close to the creator?

Gate to Heaven is above us.

Some of the indigenous people say,

this gate is a dwelling place way up in the sky

where our souls pass into the next world.

In the Christian world there is a

gatekeeper that judges each person for the

good they have done in this life.

For most people we tend to renew our contact

with our spiritual selves when we remind

ourselves that there is something much greater than we



T.Truesdale copyright 2000


Monday, April 20, 2020

tears for those that have left too soon

From my pandemic journal 4/20/2020:

Layers of grief already lay buried
in this land.
Added now so much new death and dying.

Not enough time nor ritual to ease the passage
or to help heal those crying.
How can we not feel the omnipresent fog of grief
passed each to each
 As each soul passes often anonymously,
 Without the comfort of family?

It is time to witness again
 Unnecessary and premature deaths.
Now hundreds of thousands.

The dancing prayers bring pause;
Sung psalms may ease, 
As we search for meager blessings in solitude.

Light a candle today
Offer a prayer for those we do not know,
Do a kindness for anyone.
Acknowledge the suffering disparity of people of color.
Vow to do better to fight for truth and injustice.

Honor those innocent victims;
Honor yourself with service to others even in the smallest way.

Each small step towards a better world brings us closer together;
 Away from the solitude of the grief we may deny hovering all around.
 Each hour is a death toll to our negligence.

My tears salt the earth today as so many before.
Let's be the country we all need it to be
Truth, Justice and Equality.