The bodies of bears,bison,
red-tailed hawks circling,
the deep calm from streams,
ancient Sioux dancing,
the bald eagle's flight,
a frog on a lily pad,
the songs it can teach us
of a dragonfly & the lessons it can give,
silence & sounds in Appalachian hills,
Rocky mountains,
the power of snow-capped peaks,
Montana blue skies.
Can you also here the call of the woodpecker?
The cawing of a black crow & a Blue bird's song in the morning air?
The beauty of songs does not end with the starling.
Even rabbits & field mice & cubs have their melodies&
squirrel, coyote,salmon, porcupine,
mountain lion, horse, dog & turkey--
not only the animals,
but the mushrooms,plants,rocks,swamps & dirt,
the entire land mass & water mass is breathing &
Indians knew this & in the pine cone is a message.
Look closely, each leaf of grass
tells us something of ourselves & the universe &
even a grain of sand or the moon is a friend,
a teacher,
& blessed are all things Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Ether,
sweet soil, sacred ceremony of space & sky,
all to be given thanks, & medicine is in every atom &
in the Dandelion is an ancient tune.
In the Michigan snow & Oregon rain is
a rich joy deeper than the sea, deeper than the universe.
There is a ceremony in this butterfly,
this red fox, this creek, in a pine tree's roots,
there is a rhythm in this mud, in this stone pebble,
in granite, in a volcano,
in a bat's wings & in our eyes.
There is beauty breathing here & there & everywhere.