On Stewarding
It’s innate, isn’t it?
Only driven out?
The way
after feeding a bird
for too long it forgets
how to hunt and scavenge
the way
we have learned
on separate occasions
how to make concrete
forgetting in between and
the way
we know how to give
and take life at some distance
Maybe I’m remembering
A hug with a greeting
A counter to “the way it is”
An “if given the choice between developing 18 holes and wilding”
A comment on the irony of “birdie”
A tea
An apology to golfers
A subtle cross of fingers
I’ve always been fascinated by the way that multiple people can have the same idea at the same time, or seemingly unconnected cultures can have such similar story structures/myths. This question of “lost knowledge” is a great plot for a movie, and in fact is probably already being made by Netflix - imagine The Quest for the Lost Concrete Recipe.
That being said, much of this knowledge was co-opted or destroyed rather than lost. How do we hold the fact that so much of what we destroy we don’t understand? Who needs to be in those conversations that isn’t? Why is the impulse always to tame, domesticate and familiar?
There’s a push from some educators to get Nature on the Board, among movements everywhere to reconsiders the seats at the table and think about impact. I’m hopeful. It rings of “the best time to plant a tree…”
This poem is definitely poking fun at myself as I try to figure out what stewardship looks like in action, but also is a bit cheeky 😅🤞🏼❤️.
Thanks for reading.