Wednesday, June 1, 2011

The Raven (apologies to E. A. Poe)

I continue to be fascinated with the role of the raven in the Noah story.  He was sent out from the Ark, then disappeared.  Why mention him?  Why not omit the raven, and keep the dove, shining white in the sun with the sprig of green in his beak?  I think the raven was necessary, somehow.  Someone had to go first.  The dove got the press release.


Yes, this is about way more than the raven.  It*s my way of saying that both ends of the spectrum and everyone in between is vital, necessary to the picture.  And again... someone has to go first.

There are so many ways
to give back.
It*s not just green,
A good thing for Planet Earth.

In Boston we put out the bottles
For deposit
When it was early and light enough
So people could find them
Before trash day.

Here the metal goes out
In the light.
The white truck with the wooden sides
Comes through about 6:45 in the evening.
It scouts the streets.

It*s not just green,
It*s rainbow colors,
Still black on one end of the spectrum
White on the other
Oh sure
We know there are colors
We can*t see
But there are rainbow colors between
Black and white
Dark and light
The colors range in between
They fade into each other.
It*s not just green
We need to consider.
We live on the Ark.
Sometimes we*re the raven,
Sometimes the dove.
We know the raven
had to go first.
Someone always has to go first.
The dove
Got the press release.

So many ways
To dig things into community soil,
To wing out to find new land.
Someone has to go first.
So much more than adding to the universal
Compost heap,
The heap piled
Out back, out of sight.
There are colors we can*t see.
Green is good, but
So many colors in between
The raven
And the dove.
Someone has to go first.
Someone always
Has to go first.

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