Max Reif (1948 / OVER 400 POEMS SERVED! !)

poet Max Reif
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(..............9 sept) A Hymn To the Earth

1.
Feet on soft earth feel different.
My feet on ashphalt starve.
A walk along a concrete
sidewalk may bring
refreshment through the eyes
and breezes to kiss skin,
but underneath the feet,
under the feet
it's like a coffin lid.

I have learned
that our feet breathe,
our feet see,
our feet are organs
like our hearts and lungs.
We have roots like great trees,
that go down deep,
maybe to the center of the Earth.

2.
Sitting at a table indoors,
I can't write a hymn to you, Earth.
My mind becomes a satellite
orbiting disembodied,
separated from me
by miles of thick darkness,
sends back messages
showing there's no life out there.

And yet for wilderness,
sometimes I just
walk out the door —
a tree, a park, a strip of grass,
and I've tasted
Nature's Medicine.

3.
Even cities,
roads and buildings
all rest upon you, Earth.

In mercy you sustain us
through the miracle
of your fertility.
Your soil is a gift
hand-crafted for us
through the ages.

Children who have squandered
your bounty, may we grow up now
and finally learn
the sacrament of living
on your body
with respect.

Max Reif
Submitted: Sunday, September 09, 2007
Edited: Wednesday, April 06, 2011

Comments about this poem ((..............9 sept) A Hymn To the Earth by Max Reif )

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  • Yoonoos Peerbocus (3/29/2009 10:15:00 PM)

    glad to go through this meaningful piece linked to earth/life and being itself..fine

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  • Linda Hepner (9/9/2007 2:50:00 PM)

    Hi again Max! My feet responded to this! I often feel sensations under my feet and it's as if they are telling me about the soil, the rocks, the world far away. We are so connected and so wasteful. Once again you touch on what matters.
    love, Linda

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  • Max Reif (9/9/2007 10:15:00 AM)

    3 comments earlier:

    Firoze Shakir (9/9/2007 8: 53: 00 AM)
    I walk barefeet I feel the feet have eyes too, they tread, they avoid pitfalls and I am a diabetic, so your poem relates to my own experience I have walked over jagged rocks 45 km, I have walked over embers of burning coal, yes my feet sustain the rest of me, and they just whispered in my ears that they are made of clay...

    Marci Made (9/8/2007 11: 31: 00 AM)
    I echo Tara's comment that this is a very pensive write. It's deep and touches on important things that we ordinarily wouldn't think about...like our feet on the ground [well except when burned on hot sand or such] You appear to have decided to do things differently for yourself as well, working to be the best you can. Just an excellent write. ~~mm.xo~~

    T McH (9/8/2007 11: 19: 00 AM)
    Max, this strikes me as a (wonderfully penned) pensive tribute. The reader can't help but come away agreeing, contemplating and making resolutions. Quite apart from the content, the structure is conducive to that. Clever. It's top notch. t x

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