Yesterday

Bathed in memories of love’s belonging
Glowing happily like stars outside my window
Near enough to touch
Seems like only yesterday
You were here with me walking
The Earth’s crust
Now merely a tiny particle
Of nostalgic memory dust
In the constellation of my youthful past
I think of all the vast lands
Whom have welcomed me to their shores
And befriended me with experiences anew
Satiating my appetite for more
I think of the hands I’ve held
And the cheeks I’ve kissed
As I pause for a moment’s silent reflection
For opportunities both seized and missed

Nellie Romelia (10th June 1913 – 5th April 1997) and Walter John (23rd May 1910 – 6th February 1990) Married 58 years (1932 – 1990)

Black is the New White

Of course everyone knows
That a pregnant woman’s baby
Would be effected by having chemotherapy
How can it not be, for heaven’s sake?!
Next they’ll be telling us that black is the new white!
The level of lies and brainwashing
That the news broadcasts regularly
News, sport and crime, news, sport and crime
Multiple daily subliminal implants
Over and over, all the time
At every possible opportunity
On every possible medium
To subdue and manipulate the nation
Must surely be self-evident by now..!?
Or has it already sent you senseless with tedium
Driven you out of your tiny microscopic mind?
Please just do yourself, the rest of the World
And Mother Earth, a favour
And switch it ‘clean orff’!
Instead cultivate a deeper sense of connection
To inner truth, personal integrity and intuition
Basically in life
You’ve only got to ask yourself one question:
Do I feel lucky?
Well, do you?

Harry Callahan: ‘I know what you’re thinking. “Did he fire six shots or only five?” Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you’ve got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?’ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOxGL5G8Pbk?

Propaganda: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/feb/10/chemotherapy-pregnant-women-safe-babies

Mr and Mrs Baobab

I recently posted this Baobab tree photograph on facebook which I found on the internet and I entitled the post ‘Mr and Mrs Baobab’. One of the responses to this post was that the picture must have been photo-shopped to which I started to write a reply to explain that the title was merely a product of my imaginative humour upon seeing the picture, however, my reply touched on so many other related topics that I wanted to put it in a post of all of it’s own…

‘Mr and Mrs Baobab’

I think that this photograph from the Baobab.com site is unlikely to be photo-shopped as it has © 2004 J.F. Broekhuis clearly written at the bottom. Here is the Baobab Tree photo as it appears in the article (http://www.baobab.com/baobab-baomix-pulp-fruit-antioxidant-tree-superfruit-flower-madagascar-pictures-superfood-juice-african/legends-of-the-baobab-tree/) and you will see that there is no reference to, or any mention of a ‘Mr. and Mrs.’ partnership or label, and so in seeing that the photograph is indeed real, one can then observe that there is in fact male and female in everything, even within ‘The Self’ (just like the yin yang symbol), and in embracing this concept it is not so hard to embrace it in one’s perspective of the World.

Baobab Tree (1998 ): http://ipoem.co.uk/1998/05/28/baobab-tree/

Indeed the duality of male and female energy is evident in all of Nature and it is the co-joining and dove tailing of these energies which procures the procreational sustainment of everything that is alive today. Perhaps in order to acknowledge this duality in other life forms more fully it must first be embraced within oneself, as a natural being.

Hunab Ku - Mayan version of the Yin-Yang

Hunab Ku – Mayan version of the Yin-Yang

The Native American Indian Peoples considered trees to have the status of ‘standing people’. I indeed considered them to be ‘Towers of Wisdom’ in my 1997 poem ‘Forest’: http://ipoem.co.uk/1997/07/05/forest/

For apart from being natural objects of beauty, they the are also the keepers of our atmosphere, purifiers of oxygen, the lungs of the planet, the provider of fruits, seeds, nourishment, healing, blossoms, fragrance, building materials, paper, home for countless forms of wildlife and they provide healthy soil for agriculture so therefore as a living, breathing entity, trees deserve a much greater respect for the role they play.

Ultimately by destroying the planet’s Forestation, we destroy ourselves too, with ten football stadiums worth of forest disappearing daily and now in Brazil with the proposed size of the entire UK to be flooded to build the third largest hydroelectric plant in the world. Unfortunately the petition had little effect and is now closed but one can still verbalise ones displeasure here: http://action.wwf.de/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1726&ea.campaign.id=12987.

Trees are key not only to human survival but also to planetary survival. No wonder the chief of the Kayapo tribe broke down in tears when he heard that the new president of Brazil, Dilma, had approved plans to build this huge hydroelectric plant which will flood over 400,000 hectares of forest. For Little Brother knoweth not the consequences of his actions in the bigger scheme of things, such is the disconnection between Westernised peoples and the Land which supports them.

More than 40,000 tribes people will be made homeless plus the willful destruction of the natural habitat, wildlife, deforestation and the disappearance of many species to boot.

Nigeria has already admitted to losing 400,000 Hectares of Forest in this recent news article: ‘Nigeria Loses 400,000 Hectares of Forest Land to Deforestation’: http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/-nigeria-loses-400-000-hectares-of-forest-land-to-deforestation-/103781/

Balkans sound alarm over disappearing forests (Article: Friday 21 May 2010): http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/balkans-sound-alarm-over-disappearing-forests-1979367.html

The world’s trees and forestation are under valued and taken for granted, treated as a consumer product instead of a valuable life form which plays an important role in the planet’s eco system. Indeed, almost all other forms of life outside of the white male genre are either monatised, neglected or persecuted in the pursuit of status, power or pleasure. The Westernisation of the world is an industrialised consumer homogenisation process resulting in an en-mass narcism reflecting a lack of love and respect for anything beyond the ‘I’ and the ‘I want’.

However, having observed Swans, Penguins and Sea Horses to be monogamous – (observe the beautiful intimate love dance of the seahorses in this Etta James tribute)

And also Ducks, Eagles, Foxes, Geese, Gibbons, Lynx, Marmosets, Mountain lions, Wolves, Jackals, Beavers, Otters, Turtles, Cranes, to also be monogamous, that indeed, LOVE does infact exist for other creatures out side of the Human Spectrum.

See the 1996 poem: Love Is: http://ipoem.co.uk/1996/07/04/love-is/ to further explain this concept.

And so if such loyalty can be expressed in the animal kingdom then why not of the flora and fauna kingdoms? Especially having personally observed the ancient oaks in the nature reserve in Kent where I once performed some poetry at the Harvest Festival Party, where there were definite male and female personas. (I intend to go back there with my camera so watch this space.)

And not only the expression of love and loyalty but also evidence of free thinking intelligence and creativity amongst the animal kingdom as confirmed in this new BBC1 documentary series: Super Smart Animals: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01by4w1

What 2012 needs to see is the emergence of a deeper level of responsibility towards Earthly affairs beyond the man-made arena of greed-centered commerce so that the world’s nations understand that we are all co-curators of Planet Earth, and that we all have a valuable part to play in this joint-responsibility, to take greater care of our only home in this solar system, to cultivate eco-centered sustainable business with a deeper level of intuition and sensitivity which in turn develops into a greater sense of fairness in all worldly affairs and therefore a greater sense of Reverence for all things natural.

1995 Environmental Awareness: http://ipoem.co.uk/1995/06/03/environmental-awareness/


The Man Who Planted Trees ( L’homme qui plantait des arbres ) by Frédéric Back, 1987, Société Radio-Canada

Baobab Forest Installation by Eileen MacDonagh until 07 May 2012 at the VISUAL Centre for Contemporary Art & The George Bernard Shaw Theatre, Old Dublin Road, Carlow, County Carlow, Ireland. http://www.visualcarlow.ie

Human rights for Dolphins – Dolphins ‘intelligent enough to be treated as non-human persons’ – By Aidan Radnedge – 21st February 2012 :: http://www.metro.co.uk/news/world/890896-dolphins-intelligent-enough-to-be-treated-as-non-human-persons

The Ten Native American Indian Commandments

1. Remain close to the Great Spirit.

2. Show great respect for your fellow beings.

3. Give assistance and kindness wherever needed.

4. Be truthful and honest at all times.

5. Do what you know to be right.

6. Look after the well being of mind and body.

7. Treat the earth and all that dwell there on with respect.

8. Take full responsibility for your actions.

9. Dedicate a share of your efforts to the greater good.

10. Work together for the benefit of all man kind.

AUTHENTIC TEXT OF CHIEF SEATTLE’S TREATY ORATION 1854

Chief Seattle’s speech of 1854 :: There Is No Quiet Place :: audio only http://www.halcyon.com/arborhts/chiefaudio5.mp3

M.I.A.

Excessive alcohol is an addiction to giving ones power away
Allowing emotional weakness to overcome, succumb
To running away
Futile escape
Ism from the self
Collapse of resilience, responsibility decay
Thrown against the wind
Leave it ‘til another day
Procrastination, pretend
That everything’s Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, OK
Frittering ones time, dilly dallying ones life away
Be conscious, own every experience
Especially if you have a partner or kids
For you can’t just blink drink your life away
‘Cos if you insist on drowning those sorrows
It’s the kids or your partner who’ll end up having to pay
While you’re absent without leave, M.I.A
When suddenly you wake up to find one day
That everyone’s all up and grown and flown
Left with an empty nest you missed the whole thing
With zero in common, absolutely nothing!
And whatever the self-obsession, deception
Which covert-eth one’s mind
Sugar, sex, self pity, money, gambling, revenge, work, lethargy
Narcism, hedonism, caffeine, tobacco, marijuana, class A
At the end of the day
It’s still just another addiction
To giving ones power away…

MIA: Missing In Action. A military term for those soldiers who were never proven to be killed, captured, or safely returned. Now a slang term, meaning you haven’t heard from that person in awhile, and no one else in your group knows what is going on with them either.

Beacon

Love means
The selfless giving of ones time
Only by spending time with another
Can one demonstrate ‘emotional consideration’
Develops, matures with longevity
Like a fine wine
For to love’s honour
The spiritual warrior
Or warrioress
Is duty-bound to uphold
Evolve, express, through the daily practice
Trusting that everything will organically unfold
And flow
In its own season
Feel safe enough in the presence of Love
To trust, allow, align, let go, be bold
Remember
To have more faith, more often
And share your magical gift
Divine beacon become
Be and know as one

Shadow

Its most likely that your nemesis
Was once someone who loved you dearly
But now they love you darkly
Unable to let go
They still desire to exert over you
A power and control
To destroy ones reputation
Prevent one from reaching ones goal
For sweet revenge is what they seek
Massaging the lower emotions
A short term pay off
For an instant gratification peak
But the long term cost
Is permanent excommunication
From the acknowledgment most desired
A self perpetuating cycle
Round and round stuck in a rut
Yet one must strive to rise
Above the quagmire of the ego
For like in a swamp
Resistance and struggle is futile
Lest one becomes the sunken gossip fuel
For the lunchtime-punchline
Pub-joke butt
The solution is to realign with the Divine
No choice now but to surrender
To the presence of Universal Love

Now read this: http://ipoem.co.uk/1995/09/01/just-is/

Love Karma

Real love is infinitely patient
Beyond our mere insignificant lifetimes
And incurring karma
Is just creating more opportunities to break old patterns
Aim higher
I believe we are actually designed to evolve
The nature of time ensures change
A flower must bloom
An acorn must grow into an oak
Growth is part of the process of aliveness
Karma is a spiritual choice
Treating one another as one would like to be treated oneself
(Love thy neighbour as thyself)
Extending self love to a soul brother or sister
Fellow human family member
If someone set ups karma where a debt must be repaid
It comes from blocked chi – the flow of love through the body
And into the world
Therefore one cannot be dependent upon another
For ones health, spiritual wealth, or for love
Self-worth comes from within and emanates without
And out and out and out, like a lighthouse
Like a beacon
Like a drum
Like a pulse
Like a heart beat
And it is done
According to divine order