‘One of the first conditions of happiness is that
the link between Man and nature shall not be broken.’ – Leo Tolstoy
That quote leapt to mind one evening only recently as
I recalled observing a glorious sunset from my bedroom window that looked over the
backyard and garden of my childhood family home. I experienced such a link then, like an electric
current so powerful it made my head swim and almost knocked me off my feet.
I was only 13 years-old at the time, and that feeling
of intense, personal bonding with nature has never left me even in my darkest
moments. Whenever people let me down (as people are inclined from time to time)
I go for a walk in the country, let Earth Mother dry any tears and lend me the strength to rise
above any ill feeling.
Nature, too, of course lets us down sometimes; Earth
Mother can be a harsh mentor. Yet, mentors teach and the better pupil will
learn. While we should not cherry pick what we choose to take on board or
reject, I suspect most if not all of us do just that. Whatever, I look around
and see the world Shakespeare once likened to a stage as parts of a whole, and
I bond with that whole, and the whole is
nature.
I also recall my English Teacher at secondary school, 'Jock Rankin', commenting that we are to nature as nature is to us, and the sooner humanity gets
to grips with that, the greater its chances of survival. Like everyone else in Class 5B, I nodded and
said “Yes, sir!” although none of us had a clue what he meant at the time. When
I summon that moment to my mind’s eye now, though, more than half a century
later, I am not in class at all, but that same bedroom window experiencing an
epiphany in a sunset…
Ever get the feeling we are all but players in a docudrama, have been such since the beginning of time, and doubtless will continue to be so as past, present and future merges into that infinity we call death .... ?
"The play's the thing..." says Hamlet in Shakespeare's own play, referring to how his play will give the audience food for thought on recent events. Much the same, though, can be a said for all performance arts, (indeed, all art) in the sense of its intending to give any audience serious food for thought as well as pleasure and entertainment.
THE PLAY'S THE THING or AUDIENCE APPRECIATION PARAMOUNT
Glad
blue skies, a stagy backcloth
to
sad, naked branches
barely
hinting at far kinder times
yet
to come once winter
has
worked its worst on humanity
for
wanting to prove itself
better,
stronger than Earth Mother
while
working its worst
on
all things bright, beautiful
and
freely given
Sad
clouds leading us a merry dance
for
wondering if any tears
that
may (or may not) fall are meant
to
harm (even kill) or nurture,
inspire,
re-invent an ethos of peace,
love,
kindness and respect
for
nature, human nature, all-inclusive
no
cherry picking for any ego
demanding
the bright and beautiful
serve
its own interests
Grey
skies, making no sure promises
(or
threats) to naked humanity
anxious
to avoid the worst of nature
yet
to come once winters
of
the heart have worked their worst
on
human mind-body-spirit
obsessed
with survival for its own sake
rather
than acknowledging it
all
the brighter and more beautiful
for
freely given
Amber-red
skies, reflecting uncertainty
on
earth as it is in heavens
anxious
to see us avoid the very worst
we
knowingly or unknowingly
propagate
for the sake of a greater good
as
reworked by dogma
bent
on killing freedom of expression
by imaging only the brighter
and
more beautiful in its own eyes,
on
its own terms
Wide,
open skies, ever inviting all nature
and
human nature to a life
freely
given, never for the asking or taking
besides
Time’s remit
written
in tablets of stone before its seasons
flowered,
died and rose again
as
humankind woke, slept and woke again;
testimony
to old gods, new gods
and
digitalised mock-ups... no match
for Earth
Mother
Copyright
R. N. Taber 2017
