Absent friends in shared landscapes …

Absent friends in shared landscapes …

By Lorna Edwards . . .

I walk our shared paths without you,

marvelling at the number of seasons we have shared.

Now, the bluebells of Beltane cover the earth.

I think of you and I know you are thinking of me.

We notice budding oak leaf, bramble and fern,

birdsong, tadpole and butterfly.

The landscape is vibrant with life.

A pandemic puts a stop to our walking together.

We humans are sick and many of us are dying

because of our greed over centuries.

Our priviledging of human over all other matter

in our ignorance/denial of our interdependence.

Our only hope is ‘going on together’ (1)

as human – with animal, plant, rock and all ‘vibrant matter.’ (2)

In the meantime our shared landscapes connects and nurtures us,

teaching us a different way of living.

(1). Wittgenstein, L. (1953). Philosopical Investigations.

(trans: Anscombe, G.E.M). New York: Macmillan

(2). Bennet, Jane. (2010). Vibrant Matter, a political ecology of things.

Duke University Press