Wilderness - poem

Contemporary Review, Dec, 1993 by Pam Gidney

WILDERNESS

As long as there is wilderness there is hope'

-- Paul Theroux -- For in the wild places of the world There is that primitive silence That yet contains birdsong and the cries of animals, Where the wind rattles the tambourines of the trees And water makes music over the frets of the rocks. At night one could imagine that the stars might sing The forgotten music of the spheres. Here might be found true peace. In the immensity of nature the mind's preoccupations Are reduced in size to manageable proportions, Against the backdrop of mortality and eternity. The mantra of the cicada repeats itself Over and over, and the great Om of earth and air Sounds across the wasteland, Reaches out to the Absolute. And so there is hope for the world As long as there is wilderness Where man might wander And lose himself, And find himself. And there find God.