I am

I am the desert

made of the bones of my ancestors,

full of clear blue sky,

even in the darkest storm.

I am the mountain who yearns to be climbed

who is always there, everlasting,

dependable and mysterious.

I am the river who overtime, through

miraculous processes, came back to life

whose song calls to us all.

I am the forest that at night celebrates

with all the wild animals

the feast of life,

whose roots reach across oceans,

offers you dark corners and decay

to know that these are crucial

and provide comfort too,

who invites you to stalk your surprise.

I am the garden tended by

all those who came before

planting trees that now shelter

this year’s birds and the next

and the next…

I am the grassland that flows with the wind.

(Reclaiming the Wild Soul workshop, Canterbury, 2014)

This poem is a group poem, with lines contributed by each of 12 attendees of a workshop I recently gave in Canterbury, England.

* If you were a landscape, which would you choose to be? And why? Explore these thoughts in your journal. What have you learned about yourself?

* Begin a poem with the words “I am the [name your landscape]” … allow the images and particular wisdom of your chosen landscape to guide your words

* Choose your favorite line from the poem and use it as a springboard for your own writing.