Regard

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              What we regard we might revere,
              the sense of it will not be clear
              without a setting in a phrase
              to show if it’s to deem or gaze,
              or natural esteem sincere.

              Is Earth our Mother or a mere
              resource for mortal profiteer?
              For as it’s seen, we’ll thus appraise
              what we regard.

              The stars look down with stare austere
              upon our customs cavalier,
              while moon with each celestial phase
              is witness to our worldly ways.
              Yet life could thrive if cherished dear
              what we regard.


              ~ Harley White



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The poem is a rondeau…

Some sources of inspiration were the following…

“The way we see the world shapes the way we treat it. If a mountain is a deity, not a pile of ore; if a river is one of the veins of the land, not potential irrigation water; if a forest is a sacred grove, not timber; if other species are biological kin, not resources; or if the planet is our mother, not an opportunity -- then we will treat each other with greater respect. Thus is the challenge, to look at the world from a different perspective.”
~ David Suzuki (born March 24, 1936)

Further inspiration derived from the teachings and writings of Nichiren Daishōnin…

The reason that we continually recite Nam Myōhō Renge Kyō

Image: Public Domain free image: Moon, stars, natureexpland, green, and blue.

Image credit: Public Domain free image: Moon, stars, nature