I heard today . . .
Luna's been cut.
Two-thirds and maybe more.
Someone in their rage,
in their anger,
in their frustration
struck out at Luna
wanting to hurt Her . . .
wanting to hurt me
the way they must be hurting inside.
See . . .
what we do to the Earth
we do to each other.
And how we treat the Earth
is reflected in how we treat each other.
The pain I feel right now that threatens to rip me apart
is the pain I feel every time I see an Ancient Elder cut . . .
the pain I feel every time another species goes extinct . . .
the pain I feel every time someone yells at a child . . .
the pain I feel every time another woman dies of breast cancer
caused by all the legal pollutants in her food,
her planet,
her life . . .
The pain I feel every time I think of Leonard Peltier locked inside
our prisons of disrespect and disconnect.
On and on and on
the pain in our world grows bigger and erupts.
Ricocheting bullets school yards and halls.
Chainsaws to sacred beings.
When do we begin to look at where this DIS-EASE begins?
In the disconnection from the sacred . . .
In the disconnection from the heart.
The person who ripped metal into Luna's flesh
is just as ripped apart inside as Luna now is,
as I now am,
as is the world.
May the tears that pour out from the depths of my soul
cleanse the sadness of any who would wish to react in rage.
The person who so viciously attacked Luna
has enough anger for the world.
May we love ever more
May we motivate ourselves to committed love in Action
May we motivate ourselves to live the life we wish to see in the world.
May we be the transformation we wish to see in the world.
From the inside out . . .
From the roots branching upwards . . .
From the heart
to thought
to word
to action.
Through life's trials and hardships
we can arise beautiful and free.
Julia Butterfly Hill spent 738 days on a treesitting platform 180 feet high in the redwood known as Luna in Stafford, (northern) California. She climbed the tree on December 10, 1997. She stayed there with the help of environmental activists and the US Steelworkers of America to protect the 1000-year old redwood that was scheduled to be harvested. She waited over two years until the logging company that "owned" the tree accepted to sign an agreement that left Luna and a nearly three-acre buffer zone protected in perpetuity. On Thanksgiving weekend, a vandal used a chainsaw to make one deep cut that went through a significant portion of the tree. Please visit the related links below. (Note: Julia's poem was untitled. The title is ours.)
Published under the provision of U.S. Code, Title 17, section 107.