Earth Day 2020
by Cherie Westmoreland
Last week, I ran outdoors early morning
I heard that particular call
of many geese, high up,
encouraging themselves
on the journey to their northern home
Yesterday, I ran outdoors early morning
I heard the unfamiliar sound
of a low-flying passenger jet
Today, this Earth Day,
I ran outdoors early morning
to smell, hear and taste
Rain
It has been the driest April on record
and the rainforest has been buckling
And this is a pause like no other
one with many questions and few certainties
a planetary vulnerability for our species
We now are the rainforest without rain
the flooding rivers
the raging wildfires
the drought decimated field
the acrid, toxic smog
Paradoxically, our planet can breathe again
while we humans remain stilled and frightened
by a virus that can make it difficult for us to breathe
Surely this is not lost on us
Cherie Westmoreland
is a spiritual director trained in the Pacific Jubilee SoulGuiding program. She has also completed the SoulMentoring program. Cherie is a well-established photographer who says, “Photography is a gift of grace … the spark of a conversation that invites us to remember our interconnection with everything else … diving deeply into the beauty and impermanence and vitality of life around us and within us.”