Wednesday, June 16, 2010

What Does This Have To Do With You?

I may not know Gulf waters
this is true
may not have soaked skin
in those white sands
and crystal waters blue
And so many say
what then does
this have to do with you?

Of course unsettling it is
to see
a bird of flight brought
down so helplessly
But then said aloud
and in their eyes a question
these travesties deserve a mention
of course agreed that this is true
But what for goodness
sake does this have to
do with you?

For those who sit so far away
And shake their heads
Sad this collective continues to say
So sad for "those"
for "them"
and "they"
must be hard for them
to know just what to do
But what does this
have to do with you?

From pelicans trusting fall
from the sky to sea
to egrets white flash
picking daintily
in waters aquamarine blue
Each creature, swish of marsh
Grass, grain of sand and drop
Of sea
has to do with all that is
and has come to be

When the white sand turns to fetid
Muck, when fish and creatures of
the sea lay still
and birds need hands of help
to fly into the blue
This very much has to do
with you
You who breathe the self same air

To all who dream that there is
a “they” a “them” and a “there”
and dispassionate ensconced
in deluded safety do beware

There is no Them, no They
No There
The egret, pelican, marsh-land
fish, and all that live in the sea
from whence we came and
where sustenance continues to be
Look out your window and there
The Gulf’s ripple voice calls
to you umistakeningly
From pain and muck and blood
can come to be that needed path to new energy

Whether in mountain, plain, or dessert land
Whether on a front porch or in a marching
band, professional, working, lounging,
standing or listing, if alive to hear
The clarion call has come now clear

There is no them, no they, no there
The Gulf is here and everywhere
These beaches white
This life sprung
sea of blue
Has everything to do with you

1 comment:

  1. BRAVO!!! Bravo, bravo, bravo. It has everything to do with you and you and you. I'm so glad you get it and that you've worded it so well, Pearl. I can be so much of a hammer sometimes, and it's wonderful to hear the same thoughts so eloquently turned rather than my pounding on that same nail over and over. Thanks. http://lindagoin.com/

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