Lost | David Wagoner
A Poem that deepens our connection to the natural world.
A Poem that deepens our connection to the natural world.
A share this poem as It speaks to a feeling I have often found myself with over the past few years. Lost. When this feeling comes on, it can only be described as anxiety - gripping my chest.
I remember when I was training as a game ranger at Londolozi Game reserve, and I didn’t even know some of the obvious wildlife around me. This was my first very intense experience of a wild ecosystem. I used to get stomach ulcers because of the result of my anxiety about not knowing the natural world - seeing everything as a threat. Lost in the wilderness. However it didn’t take me long to learn from others and learn the various aspects of the Savanna ecosystem. Whenever I am in the Savanna or the Fynbos biome, I get a large breath of fresh air, knowing that this ecosystem welcomes me back.
We must rekindle our relations with the natural world, as there are so many new/old relationships that are waiting for us. From my own experience, deepening these relationships have given me such strength and love over the years - beyond this, it helps us find ourselves, and see that we are not LOST. We must let the forest or whatever ecosystem we are in find us.
I encourage you if you are reading this article to make an effort to find awe in nature again. Whether it’s noticing how beautiful our sky is when you look up or seeing your self in context to the universe at large. I wonder how liberated you might feel as you plunge into rekindling your curiosity for the natural world
Lost
Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.
-- David Wagoner
(1999)