Animal Wisdom

Poem - Animal Wisdom

At first, the wild creatures were too busy

to explore their natural curiosity until

Turtle crawled up on land. He said:

What’s missing is the ability

to find contentment in a slow-paced life.

 

As the oceans receded, fish sprouted whiskers.

Certain animals grew four legs and were able

to roam from shore to shore. Bear stood

upright and looked around. He said:

What’s missing is devotion

to place, to give meaning to passing time.

 

Mountains grew from fiery heat, while

above them soared birds, the greatest

of which was Eagle, to whom penetrating

vision was given. He said: What’s missing

is laughter so that arguments

can be resolved without rancor.

 

After darkness and light settled their

differences

and the creatures paired up,

people appeared in all the corners of

 

the world. They said: What’s missing

is perception. They began to notice

the beauty hidden

in an ordinary stone,

the short lives of snowflakes,

the perfection of bird wings, and

 

the way a butterfly speaks

through its fragility. When they realized

they had something in common with animals,

people began saying the same things.

They defended the Earth together,

though it was the animals who insisted

on keeping their own names.

From Sacred Fire, 1998, by Nancy Wood

https://nancywood.com/

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