BIRDLAND JOURNAL

Celebrating Northern California Voices

Her Unbroken Giving by Raphael Block

It will happen unplanned
like the gopher burrow
that diverts the waters
rushing down my hillside
from their appointed channels
to a flat patch―
where pools now gather, sit,
trickle through layers of loam
and rock to the aquifer
that feeds the well.

II

When you were a child
and someone hurt you
did your petals close,
your shell snap shut,
did you burrow underground?

And what do you believe
will coax this wounded Earth
to show you Her face
in all weathers?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Raphael Block has lived on three continents and now resides happily in Northern California. A long-time meditator, he breathes in wonder at Earth’s and our own rhythmic ebb and flow. He is the author of four poetry books, Songs from a Small Universe, Spangling Darkness, Strings of Shining Silence, and At This Table, just published. Raphael produces the monthly Earth-Love Newsletter which can be viewed at raphaelblock.com along with a National Geographic selected 5-minute documentary.

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