Life on Earth

[iowaboy99]

Life on Earth

Without the cottonwood trees
leaning into the prevailing spin
of the world, how will I learn
to stand?

If not for the geese angling
their V into the alfalfa field,
tell me, how will I know
what it means to dance?

If not the shadowed face
staring up from the bottom
of the well, who will teach
me the true meaning of fear?

Without the goddess looking over
her shoulder straight into my gaze
over the closing gate, tell me,
how will I learn longing?

If not for the pillars of light
seeping through branches
of the windbreak at day's end,
how will I learn to pass away?

Without the waters weeping
and singing over the face
of the earth, tell me,
how will I learn to fall?