April 22, 2015

Earth Day 2015: "Everglades Litany"





and blessed be the morning star in the arms of gumbo limbo
blessed be the sun on the cruciform wings of anhingas
blessed be the wind where ospreys and black vultures ride
blessed be zebra butterflies on crowns of tamarind
blessed be lightning on the spires of royal palms.
blessed be wildfires that temper berries of the green hawthorn
blessed be hurricanes that tear at the bark of tallowwood and bay-cedars
blessed be bracken and wild olives huddled by salt marshes
blessed be august heat that rasps the throat of morning glories
blessed be panthers and deer hiding behind a screen of leatherwood
blessed be brown pelicans grunting in mangroves after thunderstorms
blessed be the evening star over aisles of magnolias
blessed be barred owls cooing by swamps and hardwood hammocks
blessed be june beetles dusting pollen off their backs in the damp air
blessed be woodstorks and spoonbills wading through resurrection ferns
blessed be chanterelles, their yellow plumes rising from oak and pine
blessed be the moon ripening with pond apples on the banks of canals
blessed be dew and mist, fog and hail, falling on blades of  sugar cane
blessed be  loggerhead turtles lumbering past the thorns of anemones
blessed be, blessed be all that move, live, and breathe on the edge of these lakes
blessed be, blessed be... everything


Geoffrey Philp

Excerpt from xango music: http://www.amazon.com/Xango-Music-Geoffrey-Philp/dp/1900715465
 
 

 
 

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