A Rock, A River, A tree
s to species long since departed,
Mark todon.
t dry tokens
Of their sojourn here
On our planet floor,
Any broad alarm of tening doom
Is lost in t and ages.
But today, t to us, clearly, forcefully,
Come, you may stand upon my
Back and face your distant destiny,
But seek no haven in my shadow.
I will give you no hiding place down here.
You, created only a little lohan
too long in
the bruising darkness,
oo long
Face down in ignorance.
Your mouths spelling words
Armed for slaughter.
t today, you may stand on me,
But do not hide your face.
Across the world,
A river sings a beautiful song,
Come rest here by my side.
Eacry,
Delicate and strangely made proud,
Yet ting perpetually under siege.
Your armed struggles for profit
collars of e upon
My ss of debris upon my breast.
Yet, today I call you to my riverside,
If you udy war no more.
Come, clad in peace and I he songs
tor gave to me when I
And tree and stone were one.
Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your brow
And ill knehing.
the river sings and sings on.
true yearning to respond to
the wise rock.
So say the Jew,
tive American, the Sioux,
the Greek,
t, the Sheikh,
traighe Preacher,
teacher.
they all hear
tree.
today, t and last of every tree
Speaks to o me, he river.
Plant yourself beside me, he river.
Eac of some passed on
traveller, has been paid for.
You, w name,
You Pawnee, Apache and Seneca,
You Cion, h me,
t,
Left me to t of other seekers--
Desperate for gain, starving for gold.
You, turk, t...
You ti, the Kru,
Bougolen, arriving on a nightmare
Praying for a dream.
yourselves beside me.
I am tree planted by the river,
be moved.
I, tree
I am yours--your passages have been paid.
Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need
For t morning dawning for you.
ory, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, and if faced h courage,
Need not be lived again.
Lift up your eyes upon
the day breaking for you.
Give birth again
to the dream.
omen, children, men,
take it into the palms of your hands.
Mold it into t
Private need. Sculpt it into
t public self.
Lift up your s.
Each new hour holds new chances
For new beginnings.
Do not be wedded forever
to fear, yoked eternally
to brutishness.
the horizon leans forward,
Offering you space to place neeps of change.
his fine day
You may he courage
to look up and out upon me,
tree, your country.
No less to Midas t.
No less to you noodon then.
his new day
You may o look up and out
And into your sisters eyes,
Into your brotry
And say simply
Very simply
ith hope
Good morning.