“We are all storytellers. We all live in a network of stories. There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling.” -Jimmy Neil Smith
This past summer, our interns interviewed our board, partners, community members, and volunteers to ask what permaculture meant to them in their personal and professional lives. This poem, created by our intern Emma Miles, is their collective story. Permaculture principles and ethics are highlighted throughout.
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Root to Rise
From our humble and tender beginning as a seed, one breeze that began to churn deep in our ancient past blew by, carrying us to the Earth And so, we became seeded by indigenous knowledge, and with our Mother Earth, and parents of this generation, David holmgren and Bill Mollison We began to take root A network of people now speak all around us offering wisdom, support and collaboration to our emerging life. Slow and Small Solutions they offer, evoking our patience “an attitude with gratitude” Is Least Change And knowing this much more about ourselves through trying efforts gives us the Greatest Effect of perspective. In our efforts to grow, we expend energy and friends offering libations and sacred brews allow us to Obtain a Yield. “We didn’t build a brewery, we built a communal gathering space, a watering hole” We practice Fair Share, offering our services To host design and implementation workshops And give back to our Veterans, With hands in the soil Our networks flourish, as we gather to share knowledge, labor, and resources each element of this gathering serving Multiple Functions of Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share Observing and interacting is spoken among the communities lively root systems “to see people where they are at” Because “permaculture doesn't have to be perfect, it’s like the little thread on your sweater once it catches, it just unravels itself” we hear resounding songs of accidental gardeners with an inkling towards something wild “we can’t do all that nature can do, we can just do what we can to help it get there” and songs of Integrating Rather than Segregating “Instead of having it done for us, we are a part of it.” And in the heat of this movement Like fire Or the center of a compost pile It all begins to boil down To that one ancient seed taking root and beginning to rise -Emma Miles.& Collective Voice |