DEPARTMENTS
DIPLOMACY
A hopeful approach for the future of international relations.
HELP
FOR TEENS
Redirect teen rebellion towards idealism and self improvement.
SCIENCE
AND RELIGION
Read
excerpts from unpublished book: Science,
Religion and the Search for God Bridging the Gap.
POETRY
Poems of society, the human condition, and spiritual discovery.
TEACHERS'
RESOURCES
Our
student activities and curriculum materials instill an environmental,
cultural, and global perspective, and integrate various academic
disciplines.
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Abstract:
This
month's article in poetic style evokes the awareness that
our planet is a living being. It not only supports our human
life, but is, itself, alive.
When
the earthquake in Indonesia and the subsequent tsunami that
it generated devastated the region surrounding the Indian
Ocean, there was a great outpouring of humanitarian aid.
Many people felt shocked, fearful and humbled by the great
power of nature.
While
so many expressed compassion for those who suffered
such upheaval and death, few expressed compassion for the
earth who is our mother. Even the the references to "God's
will" by religious leaders trying to comfort, or to
"geologic forces" by scientists trying to explain,
only serve to further distance us from the bosom of our
life-giving planet and our responsibility to her. |
The
Wake of Disaster
You
reminded us
that you breathe,
rebellious mistress,
that life lies beneath
the shifting civilizations
that adorn your skin like tattoos,
beneath the shanties and resorts,
bracelets of cheap trinkets,
around your oceans and wilderness.
You
made us see
our lover untamed -
we expected docility,
like the peaceful face
of the child unclaimed
in the morgue,
her frail body discovered,
washed ashore
by gentle waves.
We'd
like you to remain at rest,
a coy, tropical princess,
passive like that girl,
eyes closed, mouth unstressed,
no longer gasping for breath,
her blue bodice
draped over her stilled chest,
a calm, inviting sea
edged by a skirt of floral green.
We
dug and raped
while you slept,
littered your valleys and hills,
built teeming cities where people
cling to life like vegetation once did,
but without roots anchored
in your fragile flesh,
we ignored your beating heart
and your delicate breath.
We
say we love you
but not your moods,
as life bursts forth, renewed
with tempests, and floods,
your generous heart sustains
with volcanoes and earthquakes,
rocking us with a mother's rhythm,
to comfort, even as you smother
your dear, unsuspecting children.
©
2005 Richard Sidy
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LINKS
TO ORGANIZATIONS THAT SERVE HUMANITY AND THE PLANET: |
The
organizations and alliances listed below are certain to give
hope.
It
is heartening that there are so many resources and people in
the world who are actively working to save our planet and her
children.
HELP
MOTHER EARTH
Natural
Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
World
Wildlife Federation
Nature
Conservancy
Race
for the Rainforest
The
Ocean Conservancy
Stop Global Warming
HELP
HER CHILDREN
UNICEF
Oxfam
Doctors
Without Borders
Red
Cross/Red Crescent
American Red Cross
Save
the Children
CARE
Amnesty
International
Free
the Children (Youth Action)
ALLIANCES
THAT HELP
InterAction
Network
for Good
Taking
It Global (for youth)
The
Hunger Site (and more)
Care2
Make a Difference
SaveOurEnviornment
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