“The Big Island
Today I stepped on new earth.
Earth that rose from magma,
Mother giving birth to child,
As unlovely to look at as can
be imagined.
Yet time will pass and the child
Will change, gaining the
Rainaments of forests & grass,
While we scamper on the surface
Like small mites, barely aware
of our host.
Today I stepped on new earth,
Convicted of my parasitic nature.”
I wrote this about ten years ago. I’m still convicted of our parasitic nature on this planet. I once read that if you think of the Earth as an orange floating in space, all life, and all of our busy drama, exists in the fungus that is growing on the peel of the orange.
Wow, now that puts it into perspective!
And yes, I am a parasite on this earth. A particularly nasty one at times.
At this moment I am trying to walk carefully, barely touching the ground. I sway with the slight breeze, the sand is hardly displaced, I make no discernible mark as I move from place to place.
I just wish to be here completely enveloped.
About johndiestler
Retired community college professor of graphic design, multimedia and photography, and chair of the fine arts and media department.
The Big Island
“The Big Island
Today I stepped on new earth.
Earth that rose from magma,
Mother giving birth to child,
As unlovely to look at as can
be imagined.
Yet time will pass and the child
Will change, gaining the
Rainaments of forests & grass,
While we scamper on the surface
Like small mites, barely aware
of our host.
Today I stepped on new earth,
Convicted of my parasitic nature.”
I wrote this about ten years ago. I’m still convicted of our parasitic nature on this planet. I once read that if you think of the Earth as an orange floating in space, all life, and all of our busy drama, exists in the fungus that is growing on the peel of the orange.
Wow, now that puts it into perspective!
And yes, I am a parasite on this earth. A particularly nasty one at times.
At this moment I am trying to walk carefully, barely touching the ground. I sway with the slight breeze, the sand is hardly displaced, I make no discernible mark as I move from place to place.
I just wish to be here completely enveloped.
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About johndiestler
Retired community college professor of graphic design, multimedia and photography, and chair of the fine arts and media department.