Eden is on Fire

A Poem of Loss and Birth

Photo by Deric on Unsplash

Just a few miles from where I am sitting, Eden is on fire. The National Forest is ablaze and yet, I sit here and am watching two bluebirds arrive like clockwork to start their love ritual of life.

Something is dying.

Something is being born.

Somewhere, at this very moment someone is dying and at the same exact time, a baby is born.

Oh, the paradox of life that Charles Dickens the English writer so aptly described: “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times…We had everything before us. We had nothing before us…”

This morning for me, is like looking through a prism out into the world. I see smoke. I see life to come. These two realities holding space right before my own eyes. And, I am being held by this paradox—while Eden is on fire and the bluebirds are here building their love nest, I live at this crossroad of destruction and desecration with new life and a bird laying her eggs for the future to come. I think we all live in this paradox when we have the eyes to see it and hearts to embrace it.

So, this particular morning, was the invitation to sit for a moment and mine this little gem out of the earth of my heart. I mined it out because I had to mine it out. I really did not have a choice. Any poet or artist knows what I am describing. We create because we HAVE to create and this desire comes from the Creator who, must have somehow lived in the same dilemma I am describing. How could I ignore the gold within the earth of my heart and live in a panic of the impending doom of Eden? The Creator did what every creative person does—creates even in the smoke and ash of our lives.

Here is my poem, “Eden is on Fire.”

I wrote it after having read the remarkable essay, just yesterday by Howard Thurman, the mentor to Martin Luther King Jr. Thurman sat with the metaphor of the Jack Pine cone and shared the truth that the seed of that particular cone only releases its seed in intense heat and fire. It’s in is his remarkable book: Meditations of the Heart. I recommend you get it. It is compelling and moving—raw and real. I gave Wendell Berry, the prolific writer and farmer a shout out as well. I love his work and this is the time, we need his work.

It is a secret of life, we either learn or dismiss. My poem is a tribute to the Jack Pine Tree, the magnificent Bluebirds who showed up this morning and started their nest building while miles away Eden is on fire.

We are are hopeful that predicted rains will come tomorrow and Monday—showers of blessings, I hope. We are still in our home—not evacuated and hoping not to be. But some of our friends are displaced—living in hotel rooms and AirBnb spaces. Pray for the Firefighters and first responders! The disillusionment of people who survived a hurricane six months ago and now a threatening wild fire is so much to bear.

And an update on Gwen… she is making great progress. She goes to PT four times a week for both shoulder and hand work. So much muscle loss happened due to nerve damage. It will take time, we are still being told. So, we are embracing time, work and hope. Thank you for your concern and prayers.

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