Nature always tells the truth

For our fourth weekly poem in honor of the 25th National Poetry Month, GLIDE Memorial Church is sharing a poem from another San Francisco Poet Laureate, Alejandro Murguía, the first Latinx individual to be awarded this honor.

As spring comes alive and lifts our spirits, along with the rise in vaccinations that are bringing greater protection to the people of our city and the world, Murguía’s “Nature always tells the truth” calls forth protection of our Earth and humanity, as well as reverence for the interconnected beauty of which we are a part.

We hope you enjoy this week’s poem and join us in honoring the elements and protecting the Earth. During this spring, may we all tap into the raw truth hidden within the natural world, and the well of gratitude within our hearts. Please consider sharing it’s appreciation and protection of our home with your loved ones today.

I come with my songs to clean the wounds
Like wind thru the redwoods
I’m the hum of the hummingbird
The color of the red-tail hawk
There’s a jaguar within
That prowls the city streets
Hunting for a poem
The riddle of the blue jay is my pen
The majesty of the condor my ink
I’m the river, I’m the rain
The grizzly bear’s paw
The courage of the wolf and the cunning of coyote
I’m the cactus, the nopal, the agave
With its sweet mescal
I’m the seashell on the shore that listens to your woes

The tsunami washing away that same shore
The storm that’s coming—the hurricane
Beware Pacha Mama
Because only you give us life
And the corporations give us death
You give us beauty and they turn it to trash
So I burn sage to cloud up their plans
I blow copay to confuse their midnight conferences
I offer cedar to protect all the four-legged
And the two-legged
Pacha Mama to the four directions
Pacha Mama to the center, the balance
For the children
And the children waiting to be born

We hope you enjoyed our weekly poem by Alejandro Murguía. Please consider sharing it’s appreciation and protection of our home with your loved ones today.