Whisper of Elephants (day 3137)

And the whisper of tides keep rolling
That makes the engine hardly slowing
In a growing pain of knowing
For all elephants have gone blind.

In an innocent game she was glowing
Until a judge became the one blowing
Lost in depths of spiraling
The end was all she could find.

Then all at once there came a calling
An old standard with sweet beckoning
With wallets that were fattening
Only hygiene long left behind.

So the two and their sweet romancing
Called the pastor who came running
He knew what was then demanding
No opposition of any kind.

And like buskers at the happening
They all packed up and left no remembering
A lot like old elephants fattening
No story left on each their mind.

Enslaved (day 2828)

Moral resources grow stronger
The more thy soul does learn
Envision what this destiny
Could look like all around.

For in the skies, no longer streaking
Would be what Heavens divine,
No act of God unspoken for
That lacked full consciousness.

Upon the ground, each footstep taken
Would be of a more focused breadth,
One that swept with kindness, outward
Approaching the day with care.

Amidst the air would be pure waves,
No abstracted vibrations lost in space,
Each word so designed for to reach our neighbour
So kindly thought and presented.

Our eyes would see true meaning
So that no deceit could enter near,
No vagabond, no trickster magician
Could spread fear we didn’t know.

Yet depth amidst our pure resource
Grows weaker every day,
Though we know what kind can create
It falls away: enslaved.

Flew (day 2635)

It is not mine to lead away
Paths which grow apart
For every night a gallery
Painted upon the sky
Sings the chorus
Of each our rambling song
Heavy on the bass
Lightly stepping, light dew
Light our hearts they flew
Light the paths
For each we choose
Like fireflies in delight
And keep our minds
Upon our goals
Lest misty morning’s news.

Ode to a Pine (day 2281)

Needles so long and fragrant that
You set into my dreams
And close around my open spaces
With essence of the forest.
I notice that your feet are so
Sandy, enjoying the soil
I’d like to join you, kick back, relax
Grow so strong and freely here.
I shan’t be quick to cut you down
I shall resist unto the end
So that your life outlives my own
Respecting one another’s deep wisdom.

Jon-Jon Wood Oak (day 2085)

These days are long, my son
The grass hardly grows
And we must be keen and aware
To find what has been left
From the summer’s growing
See these cat tails?
They will do you very good
But the birch, poplar, and willow
Those will do.
For we are not the only ones
Looking for sustenance
In these cold, blizzardy days
No, let this be a reminder
That when the food is plenty
In the warm summer days of green
To eat and eat and eat some more,
For winter’s sure to come again
And we survive, oh, we do survive
We are survivors on what has been stored
During the summer days of green.

Moose watercolour painting by Ned Tobin

A Different Song (day 1848)

In my time of need
When I was growing strong
How could you say I was all wrong?
As I walked up to you
To ask a favor from
How could you sing a different song?

Like a feather that lives so long
Along the beak of a strong song
You were wisdom that we all needed
This last song to gather seed.

As I whispered to my friends
That we had stumbled upon truth
How could you yell upon your lungs
What we had already sent away
And claim it for your very own
Brought home as our one deluded messiah

Like a feather that lives so long
Along the beak of a strong song
You were wisdom that we all needed
This last song to gather seed.

I had two ounces in my pocket
You had traded me for my soul
Which I now carried forever more
Saying I was free in every deed
And on my lasting journey home,
So locked in your greedy empire I,
It was all unfaithful truth and a silenced song.

Like a feather that lives so long
Along the beak of a strong song
You were wisdom that we all needed
This last song to gather seed.

A Different Song by Ned Tobin

Ode to the Big Cedar (day 1759)

I looked up to wonder
How many years has your bark
Entangled your sinuous heart,
The very fibers of your girth
And timber, thick.
How long have you towered
Above the rest of your
Brothers and sisters
Reminding them through a good example
Of how big and strong they can yet grow?
And my mind runs along your vertical stripes
To follow the years of your growth
I count the markings
The lateral indicators
Of a healthy year or a false start.
And if I listen carefully as I stroll on by
I can hear you whispering my name
Reminding me of why I came,
And to whom I owe this poem.

big cedar tree in the west coast of Canada