Poem 58 (Pandemic Day 62)

And My Heart Soars

By Chief Dan George

The beauty of the trees,

the softness of the air,

the fragrance of the grass,

     speaks to me.

From a kayak in the Silver River,
Silver Springs, FL. Jan 9, 2019; J. Doolittle

The summit of the mountain,

the thunder of the sky,

the rhythm of the sea,

     speaks to me.

The faintness of the stars,

the freshness of the morning,

the dew drop on the flower,

     speaks to me.

The strength of fire,

the taste of salmon, 

the trail of the sun,

And the life that never goes away,

   They speak to me.

And my heart soars.

'Til All the Stars Have Fallen: A Collection of Poems for Children, Selected by David Booth, Viking, 1989.

When I saw that a poem by Chief Dan George was included in this beautiful volume of children's poetry, I knew that I had to chose it.  His performance in the 1970 epic movie, "Little Big Man" starring Dustin Hoffman left an indelible impression on me.  I just added that movie to my DVD queue in Netflix.   

I believe that Chief Dan actually could hear the mountains and the sea speak to him.  It is perhaps possible that the morning and the dew drops and the salmon will speak to us also; but that kind of patient attention and attunement to nature is not something that we are taught or often choose to practice. Their voices are muted and drowned out by the busyness of our lives. 

But now, as we approach the third month of sheltering, we still have the opportunity, perhaps even the duty to listen, really listen and allow our hearts to soar.