Happy Earth Day!

In honour of Earth Day today, here's a favourite poem. I love how it evokes Gaia's "motherly attitude" in a way that is not usually portrayed, but yet which is entirely truthful. I'm sure we've all experienced this particular tone of voice from our own Moms at some point or another in our lives! This poem is found in Marilyn Sewell (ed.), Cries of the Spirit: A Celebration of Women's Spirituality (Boston: Beacon Press, 1991) at pp. 245-247.

Inventing Sin

by George Ella Lyon

God signs to us

we cannot read

She shouts

we take cover

She shrugs

and trains leave

the tracks

Our schedules! we moan

Our loved ones

God is fed up

All the oceans she gave us

All the fields

All the acres of steep seedful forests

And we did what

Invented the Great Chain

of Being and

the chain saw

Invented sin

God sees us now

gorging ourselves &

starving our neighbors

starving ourselves &

storing our grain

& She says

I've had it

you cast your trash

upon the waters -- 

it's rolling in

You stuck your fine fine finger

into the mystery of life

to find death

& you did

you learned how to end

the world

in nothing flat

Now you come crying

to your mommy

Send us a miracle

Prove that you exist

Look at your hand, I say

Listen to your scared heart

Do you have to haul the tide in

sweeten the berries on the vine

I set you down

a miracle among miracles

You want more

It's your turn

You show me

Fact # 3

3. I have Spiral Danced with Starhawk.

In 2002, the G8 Summit was held in Kananaskis, Alberta (a Rocky Mountain resort about 4 hours south of Edmonton, near Calgary). Of course, many political activists came from around the world to protest at the meeting. A few months before the G8 Summit, Starhawk came to Alberta to teach some environmental activist training workshops, including a couple in Edmonton. She also hosted an evening celebration of Reclaiming Witchcraft spirituality at which she gave a public talk about the Goddess movement and then led everyone in a Spiral Dance. Several friends and I attended, of course, eager to see and hear Starhawk in person. It was thrilling to drum and sing and Spiral Dance with her and everyone else who was there. What a special memory that evening is!

Fact # 2

2. I was instantly smitten by my Rare One.

A couple of years after I moved to Edmonton, I went to a women's house party where I first met my Rare One. I was instantly smitten by her. She was friendly, attractive, outgoing and fun. She was the only woman I had met in Alberta who I wanted to date. I made discreet inquiries about her but alas! She already had a girlfriend so that was the end of that. But a couple of years later, our paths crossed again and this time she was single! The rest, as they say, is history. Or, in our case, herstory.

Fact # 1

1. My favourite movie is Casablanca.

I have seen this movie innumerable times and it always retains its charm for me. I never miss a chance to see it on a big screen (usually at some tumbledown repertory theatre dedicated to art films and the classics) because that's the best way to enjoy it. But TV and DVD viewings are fine too! I think I like it so much because love, politics and noble self-sacrifice for a higher cause all combine in it. It definitely appeals to the romantic idealist in me. And I always get choked up during "La Marseillaise" scene.

"The Germans wore gray, you wore blue." That says it all.

Tag, I'm It! 7 Facts About Myself

Thank you, Haley over at Iridescent Dark, for tagging me last week with the "Seven Facts About Myself" meme! Because I like to write short 'n sweet posts, I'm not going to do the whole meme in a single entry. Instead, I'm going to post one fact every day for the next seven days. Then I'll conclude with a final post tagging seven other bloggers. In other words, I'm going to milk this for all it's worth and get more than a week of posts out of it! Woo hoo!

I'm Ba-a-ack. . .

. . . and the friggin' taxes are DONE!!!

Ciao Bella

I won't be blogging for the next week or so, but I'll be back soon! In the meantime, enjoy Spring and the Easter Long Weekend: woo hoo!!

P.S. I have absolutely no idea what the hell this picture is all about, but doesn't it look like they're having a good time?