Green

by Patrick J. Walsh

In the light of winter sun
the gray stillness of the empty field
seems bigger
than the memory of days
when the grass grew freely

A wrap of dying leaves
enshrouds the early fall
sealing away
any chance for new growth
as the black winds turn chill

And summer, lusting red with heat
in sodden, sweaty steps
stomps down
the flooded patches
with an angry trail of mud

But spring, its secrets hidden
in the lush fertile soil
deep below
renews the promise of green
and its hope for a better world

© Patrick J. Walsh

Celebrating Earth Day: A Moment in Light

By Patrick J. Walsh

On this day that we set aside to think about the Earth, it is instructive to imagine that moment, far back in the gray darkness of our infant civilization, when the first primitive human first became aware of a larger dimension to his or her own landscape.

photo courtesy of NASA

In the thin, weak light of that moment — or, perhaps, that series of moments in which the idea came and went, until it ultimately took hold — there is the start of our collective yearning to understand our place in the cosmos, and to discern the mile markers on the road of our collective journey.

Watch the video: A Moment in Light

And it is instructive, as we try to enrobe that moment with details of time and place and person, to further imagine a subsequent point in the vast history of our living here — to try to imagine the distinct moment in our collective consciousness when humanity first thought of the Earth not merely as the place where we find ourselves, but also as the place that we call our home.

In all that that transition implies, the Earth is after all the museum of our fondest memories of the past, and the canvas for the realization of our most cherished hopes for the future.

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Pat's video series "Five Minutes in Space"

As we imagine the primitive whose awareness was archetype of the perspective that has come to inform our modern understanding of the world, it is difficult to dismiss the responsibility that we now face in our sophistication.

Given the depth of our own awareness and the abundance of our blessings, it seems reasonable to assert that it is incumbent upon us to treat our Earth with the same sort of care that we each would, at our best, treat our individual dwellings, as we live out our lives in the best traditions of respect and honor for our neighbors, our community, and all the larger world around us.

Perhaps most importantly, as we mark this particular Earth Day and the grandeur of all that its celebration implies, maybe we can finally begin to learn to live as a family — aware of our differences in general, proud of our specific place in the group as a whole, and ultimately, all encompassing in our tolerance and kindness toward each other, wherever we may reside on this small planet.

© Patrick J. Walsh

Earth Day Memories: Greetings From A Small Planet

From Apollo 17 mission images.  Photo courtesy NASA.

This is my friend, The Earth.
Today's her Day. Happy Earth Day, everyone!

On Earth Day 17 years ago I was in Norwalk, Connecticut, at what was then the Globe Theater. I was there for a terrific concert headlined by one of my favorite local bands, Somah. Some time later, when I was working as a music journalist, I wrote a profile of the band ("Somah Puts The Psychic Back in Psychedelia") for the October, 1997 issue of Rhythm & News magazine.

The musicians who so endeared Somah to a generation of local music fans were Dave Wendell (drums, lead vocals), Joe Bowman (guitars), Greg Goldman (bass guitar), and Jake Lambertson (keyboards). In its heyday (1992-1998), the band released three studio albums: Ice Skating on the Moon (1993); Find The Time (1994); and Arbor Painted Night (1996).

Both band and theater are gone now, but the memories and the music remain, and are well worth seeking out. Here's a few starting points:

Samples site: http://www.acidplanet.com/artist.asp?AID=644751&T=
Fansite (MySpace): http://www.myspace.com/somahband
PJW Profile: http://www.echoesamongthestars.com/PatPortfolio/RN-Soma.html

© 2012 Patrick J. Walsh