{"id":3363,"date":"2013-12-16T22:33:05","date_gmt":"2013-12-17T04:33:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/?p=3363"},"modified":"2013-12-16T22:33:19","modified_gmt":"2013-12-17T04:33:19","slug":"the-wolf-within-a-poets-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/?p=3363","title":{"rendered":"The Wolf Within – A Poet’s Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"karenShragg\"<\/a>(Editor’s note) Karen’s voice is one of guardianship and caring for the Earth. It is a voice that we all need to pay more attention to. When I finished reading her book, I felt awakened and emotionally shaken.<\/em><\/p>\n

Karen Shragg is an author of children\u2019s books, poet, naturalist and\u00a0 an over-population activist. She has been the director of Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield, MN since 1991.\u00a0 Her most recent work, The Wolf Within,<\/i> is a selection of poems that she says comes to her in the early morning hours. Karen\u2019s book is available on Amazon, and she has graciously allowed me to select a few poems to share with the readers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Wolf Within<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

History repeats itself<\/p>\n

When no one\u2019s paying attention<\/p>\n

\"cover<\/a>

cover photo by Stan Tekiela<\/p><\/div>\n

They opened a season on your majesty<\/p>\n

Barely recovered from the last time your absence<\/p>\n

Encouraged the elk and deer to kill off the forests.<\/p>\n

Now hunters drool to get a piece of your fur<\/p>\n

On their mantles<\/p>\n

Killing you as if there could ever be enough<\/p>\n

of your packs of predatory prowess<\/p>\n

of your tight knit families<\/p>\n

of your nerves of steel<\/p>\n

You are part of the balance<\/p>\n

A part of our spirit<\/p>\n

We all have a wolf within<\/p>\n

A shared story of survival<\/p>\n

Use your cunning to find<\/p>\n

Reservations that will protect<\/p>\n

You from the slaughter<\/p>\n

Canis Lupus, friend of the wild<\/p>\n

Keeper of the the Ojibwe spirit<\/p>\n

Protector of the balance we once knew.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Fracking<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\"soundofheart.org\"<\/a>

soundofheart.org<\/p><\/div>\n

Frack it<\/p>\n

Crack it<\/p>\n

Pump it<\/p>\n

Dump it<\/p>\n

Pollute it<\/p>\n

Loot it<\/p>\n

Pile up lies<\/p>\n

Ignore the cries<\/p>\n

Fuel the greed<\/p>\n

Feed the need<\/p>\n

Rape the land<\/p>\n

To get the sand<\/p>\n

I wish they\u2019d never found<\/p>\n

This poisoned goo under the ground<\/p>\n

Fracking<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Beyond<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/b>I believe in things science cannot measure<\/p>\n

\"Hepatica<\/a>

Hepatica (Wade)<\/p><\/div>\n

Like the joy of laughter erupting between two friends<\/p>\n

When lovers talk<\/p>\n

Using only their hands<\/p>\n

When beautiful melodies reach your ears<\/p>\n

and dance in your soul<\/p>\n

When art reaches your eyes and lifts<\/p>\n

you off the ground<\/p>\n

When the first blooms of spring<\/p>\n

Make you feel like singing to strangers<\/p>\n

Being open to embracing the immeasurable<\/p>\n

Asks only that we leave dogma in the dust.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Loon Speak<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

If only I spoke Loon<\/p>\n

Or Maybe Kingfisher<\/p>\n

Or Egret, even Heron would do<\/p>\n

\"Kingfisher<\/a>

Kingfisher
www.northwestnaturalimagery.com<\/p><\/div>\n

I would tell them all not to fly<\/p>\n

To the Gulf this fall<\/p>\n

Go somewhere<\/p>\n

We haven\u2019t yet destroyed<\/p>\n

Skip over the oil-slicked waters<\/p>\n

So you can return to us in the spring<\/p>\n

But even if I could<\/p>\n

Speak to the migrators<\/p>\n

How would I explain<\/p>\n

What happened to their home?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Remember Me With Laughter<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Remember me with music<\/p>\n

You’ll always sing my song<\/p>\n

Tears pump through your veins<\/p>\n

but don’t let them linger long.<\/p>\n

Remember me with laughter<\/p>\n

Now that my time is due<\/p>\n

Death may be our journey<\/p>\n

But I live on through you.<\/p>\n

Remember me with moonlight<\/p>\n

From full to when brand new<\/p>\n

The moon will be my residence<\/p>\n

So I can shine on you.<\/p>\n

Remember me with summers<\/p>\n

The times when we were clever<\/p>\n

Memories savored one by one<\/p>\n

Just know my love’s forever.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Editor’s note) Karen’s voice is one of guardianship and caring for the Earth. It is a voice that we all need to pay more attention to. When I finished reading her book, I felt awakened and emotionally shaken. Karen Shragg … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3363","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nature-poetry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3363","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3363"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3363\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3374,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3363\/revisions\/3374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3363"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3363"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3363"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}