May 28, 2013

Poet's Nook: "Going Out To The Garden" by Alice Walker








Going out to the garden

this morning

to plant seeds

for my winter greens

-the strong, fiery mustard

& the milder

broadleaf turnip-

I saw a gecko

who

like the rest of us

has been

reeling

from the heat.



Geckos like heat

I know this

but the heat

these last few days

has been excessive

for us

& for them.



A spray of water

from the hose

touched its skin:

I thought it would

run away.

There are crevices

aplenty

to hide in:

the garden wall

is made of stones.



But no

not only

did the gecko

not run away

it appeared

to raise

its eyes

& head

looking for more.



I gave it.



Squirt after

squirt

of cooling

spray

from the green

garden hose.



Is it the end

of the world?

It seemed to ask.

This bliss,

is it Paradise?



I bathed it

until we were both

washed clean

of the troubles

of this world

at least for this moment:

this moment of pleasure

of gecko

joy

as I with so much happiness

played Goddess

to Gecko.



This poem is taken from Alice Walker's latest book, "The World Will Follow Joy: Turning Madness into Flowers." Alice Walker is a living angel to me. Her grace, warmth, intelligence , creativity, love & wisdom is like a warm fire in a cold, desolate terrain (modern society). Her voice is like a whisper calling us to go beyond & within. A film about her life, "Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth," is out and she has another book that's out as well, namely, "The Cushion in the Road: Meditation and Wandering as the Whole World Awakens to Being in Harm’s Way," in which she discusses many of the dominant themes in her life and work, including racism, Palestine, Africa and Obama’s presidency. Check out the trailer of this must-see film:

OneLove

 :::MME:::

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