I Am
Up Scenic Point
I thank the rocks
And the plants
And the animals
For being part of me
As I am part of them
–
Not from each other
We are each other
As we human beings
Are all one another
–
We are sacred
Each particle of mass
Even the air (we breathe)
–
I am not a visitor here
On this earth (though I like the idea
at times)
I am
The earth itself
And everything in it
I am
The fires in august
That blow through this valley
I am
The wind from the cliffs
Scouring down over the lakefront
I am
The raven fledglings
Perching still on the edge of my nest
I am
The earth itself
And everything in it
–
Not a keeper
Not a visitor
Certainly not
A master
–
But the very spice of it
The gritty grime of it
The rocks and mud and plants
My body smells of it
It grows out of me
I grow into it
We are here
Together here
–
By listening
We can know this
Contributor’s Biography:
Amy Pearson is a Ph.D. student in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication. Her research explores the ecological implications of the ways we talk about wilderness areas, especially in National Parks.
In this piece I situate myself as a human being in equal relation to my “ecological” surroundings. I am convinced that a primary means of creating a sustainable Earth might come through re-envisioning and rearticulating how we as human beings sit in relation to our ecological environment. The photograph is from Glacier National Park in Montana where I spend my summers as a ranger naturalist.
