The Medicine
What if the thermometer itself froze solid
and the people linked arms and sang in solidarity with the cold?
What if the mercury crossed the endline of 32*
and the crowd of birds and squirrels went wild cheering the runoff?
What if the far-north ice patches receded,
revealing the darts of forebears who shopped at the caribou market?
What if snow fell "quietly, quietly, leaving nothing out,"
and we each found our one job and did it thoroughly, faithfully?
What if the sun shone, ceaselessly dependable,
and to a person we built a photovoltaic prayer for the future?
What if indoors the gullible daffodils bloomed
and outdoors the bulbs underground kept counting the sunrise?
What if the currents of the wind changed,
and we packed our carpet bags, put up our umbrellas and sailed
to our next appointment, where once again
through elbow grease and a spoonful of sugar we reconnected
all the members of the earthly family?
Instadraft (c) HM 2026
Greeting also to the ever-artful Robyn Hood Black, who is HERE for us in so many ways, topmost as our roundup host today. Thanks, Robyn, and to you and any others who may not know them, check out
HERE: Poems for the Planet (an anthology) and
YOU ARE HERE: Poetry in the Natural World (Ada Limon's Laureate project)
Heidi, dear! What a fascinating list of questions. My favorite has to be, "What if snow fell 'quietly, quietly, leaving nothing out,' / and we each found our one job and did it thoroughly, faithfully?" It gives me hope for making this world a better place for "all the members of the earthly family." Lovely!
ReplyDeleteI love your weaving of so many allusions throughout your love poem. What's love, after all, but a series of allusions, metaphors, and rhymes?
ReplyDeleteWhat if we wrote a poem every day that expressed all of our joys and sorrows of the day? Your images are so amazing. I especially love the daffodils counting the sunrise.
ReplyDeleteYou've included so many wonderful images, as Margaret is saying. The spirit of the poem reminds me of John Lennon and "Imagine."
ReplyDeleteHello Heidi, your poem provokes, prods, and prickles my neck. It asked to be read twice and slowly. Really beautiful. Then I explored your links and ordered Here: Poems for the Planet—so thank you!
ReplyDeleteOh, this is wonderful, wistful, whimsical. Thank goodness for "what if?" We can imagine a whole, healthy planet. Linda M.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that all things should be included in our love for our earth, taking care of "too hot", and "too cold", or "too few" and "too many". Your marvelous "What ifs" love poem covers them all! It's a love fest for today! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful ode, Heidi -- Words make hopeful possible.
ReplyDeleteI love this, Heidi. When I was little, my father admonished me once, in a fit of frustration, to stop "What iffing." I've never stopped what-iffing, and never will.
ReplyDelete"and to a person we built a photovoltaic prayer for the future" - YES. Thank you for this magical tour of possibilities, Heidi - and for your planet-loving heart. Thanks, too, for the links - I did order Ada Limon's book since this phrase is my companion these days, and the one of the same title by Thích Nhất Hạnh, too - though that one is probably "here" in the house somewhere already. ;0)
ReplyDeleteHeidi, your What If blog and The Medicine Poem are wonderful to read, as are the other links you shared. I, one of your Climate-Change-is-Real-people, Iooks forward to Climate Friday and the way you deliver its message. To those who don't believe in climate change, I say, you must look to the future and preserve what is needed for the children of the world. What works for me is these lines: "What if snow fell quietly, quietly, leaving nothing out,"
ReplyDeleteand we each found "our one job and did it thoroughly, faithfully?" Happy Loveuary.