“If we approach nature and the environment
without . . . openness to awe and wonder,
if we no longer speak the language of fraternity
and beauty in our relationship with the world,
our attitude will be that of masters, consumers,
ruthless exploiters, unable to set limits on
their immediate needs. By contrast, if we feel
intimately united with all that exists, then
sobriety and care will well up spontaneously.”

Laudato Si #11

Remember
by Jo Harjo

Remember the sky that you were born under,
know each of the star’s stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the
strongest point of time. Remember sundown
and the giving away to night.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath. You are evidence of
her life, and her mother’s, and hers.
Remember your father. He is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their
tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,
listen to them. They are alive poems.
Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the
origin of this universe.
Remember you are all people and all people
are you.
Remember you are this universe and this
universe is you.
Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.
Remember language comes from this.
Remember the dance language is, that life is.
Remember.

~ Joy Harjo, “Remember.” from She Had Some Horses by Joy Harjo. 1983

Joy Harjo was appointed the new United States poet laureate in June 2019, and is the first Native American Poet Laureate in the history of the position.

ARTWORK: Kathy Conzelman. Used with Permission. See Simply KMC Photos.