Epochs of Ecosystems

E144: Dissecting Maya Angelou's poem "On the Pulse of Morning"

ARTICLE VOICEOVER

Dear Quiet and Gentle Reader, curious member of our Tribe Tilt

“A Rock, A River, A Tree
Hosts to species long since departed,
Marked the mastodon,
The dinosaur, who left dried tokens
Of their sojourn here
On our planet floor,
Any broad alarm of their hastening doom
Is lost in the gloom of dust and ages.”

— On the Pulse of Morning, Maya Angelou

“A Rock. A River. A Tree.”

I leaned back into my mother’s office chair, my eyes shut, ready to listen to the poem. With this opening line, however, my mind’s eye immediately started flipping through the gallery of photos I’d taken in The Cotswolds.

A River: And the many ancient stone bridges I walked to cross streams and rivers over water so crystal clear you could count the striations on the pebbles below 

A Tree: And the beautiful gnarly trees just begging to be hugged, some stood around for at least 400 years, their roots sunk deep into the ground

A Rock: And the lustre of the gold lichen buried in a circle of standing stones that date back to 3000 BCE.¹

A Rock, A River, A Tree.

“Hosts to species long since departed”

This last line blared out at me. 

Generations of civilizations have walked this earth before us.

Not just Eras of Civilizations — Stone Age, Greek, Roman — within mankind.

But epochs of ecosystems.

How many generations of “civilization” existed within the Age of the Dinosaur in the Mesozoic Era? And how many species of flora and fauna co-existed with them?

Before the mastodon disappeared, were they hastily hosting ecological planning meetings like CoP (are we really up to CoP29?²), decades deep in bureaucracy analyzing “if” and “when” and “who” should be making changes to ensure they survived?

How many more generations of civilization and new ecosystems will live on this planet before Earth is done? 

What is this hubris of mankind that we believe we will forever inhabit this space, always taking more than we put back? Is this, then, the end of Human’s chapter on Earth?

“Root yourselves beside me”

It is a beautiful poem, “On the Pulse of Morning”. 

A gentle invitation from The Tree, The River and The Rock:

“Here, root yourselves beside me.
I am that Tree planted by the River,
Which will not be moved.
I, the Rock, I the River, I the Tree”

— On the Pulse of Morning, Maya Angelou

“Find a tether for your soul”, I hear it say. Know that there are parts of me that are connected to a network of knowledge that travels way back through time, buried deep beneath the soil, talking to mushrooms, ants and animals. They found a way to create a circular economy and make space for abundance and for the other. And to survive on this planet, outlasting all the previous master species.

Be still. Be comforted. Be humble.
Listen. 

“Space to place new steps of change”

And then … ACT!

“History, despite its wrenching pain
Cannot be unlived, but if faced
With courage, need not be lived again.

Lift up your eyes upon
This day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.”

— On the Pulse of Morning, Maya Angelou

Here, in Tribe Tilt, we believe.

We believe we can make a difference to the people and places that are precious to us - that we have hope and agency within our own lives that ripples through to others.

This is not a trite statement. If you are in this Tribe, is it because you’ve self-selected to be a do-er, spreading hope. 

The horizon leans forward,
Offering you space to place new steps of change.
Here, on the pulse of this fine day

— On the Pulse of Morning, Maya Angelou

Now, if you have another minute, pour yourself a refreshing glass of clear water. And treat yourself to a moment of hope, rejuvenation and the full read:

Watch/Listen:

Each of us who listens or reads will come back with our own favourite phrase, our own interpretation.

Please return, and share. What did you hear buried deep within the lines, within the negative space of these words, penned by the beautiful and generous soul of Maya Angelou.

Text: On the Pulse of Morning

Then go forth, and execute your vision. And while you do that, find moments to root yourself in timeless history.

• Sit by a stream

• Hug a tree

• Plonk yourself down on a rock

A Rock. A River. A Tree. Ground yourself.

Do you have a poem that inspires you? Would you like to share it with us?

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Thank you for being part of Tribe Tilt! And welcome if you have recently joined. We believe we can make a difference to the people and places that are precious to us - that we have hope and agency within our own lives that ripples through to others.

Stay healthy. From there all else becomes possible. Treat your health as the precious resource it is.

See you again next week!
Karena

Dateline: The Cotswolds, UK

Brooke Smith

and

Emma Dorge

help ground me and my message each week. Thank you ladies, for keeping my publishing on track, and making sure I take action.

And thank you to

Cindy Villanueva

for selecting this delicate poem to read at the Crow gathering.

Would you like to join our Tribe Tilt?

1. The “Rollright stones”. These are believed to have been erected between 3000 and 2200 BCE. The lichen on the oldest stones could be 400-800 years old!! This is ancient stone circle is referred to as The King’s Men Stone Circle. The layout suggests there were up to 150 boulders in a 30m diameter. For more interesting information on this geological gem link to RollrightStones.co.uk

2. COP - Conference of the Parties. Started in 1993, this international group of interested parties (countries) have meet each year, and recently more often, to discuss climate related issues. CoP21 in 2015 offered us the Paris Accord where each country committed to do their part to hold the global average temperature below a 2 degree rise, and build in resilience. For more, visit the UNFCCC site https://unfccc.int/