Earthly Worship (the poem)

On 10 APR, in the blog entry ("Earthly worship" ) I wrote: "A natural piety of the Earth as Mother is already widely held, fuelled by conservation & organic movements. Here in Northern California, I fully expect Earth-Family groups to meet on public parks on Sundays, disguised as family picnics." After getting 2 religious e-mails from a poet I knew (intimately, for decades) in Boston's Jamaica Plain neighborhood (she's just turned 60), I wrote this poem with an upbeat contemporary setting: playing Frisbee on a public park, as a shimmering ambiguity: are they aliens? Who are they waiting for? Is this earth/heaven, or purely imaginary? What she does proves good for her to do, however she may rationalize it.

Earthly Worship (the poem)

{for Carolyn Gregory}

After reading his e-mail,
she went to the nearest park
to see if it were true. She found

a family throwing Frisbees
in the lightest way: with
a truly blessed ambience.

Can this be an Earth-Family?
she thought; so she asked them:
“Can you be an Earth-Family?”

They smiled. “Yes, we can. We’re
from Earth, but we’re waiting
for others. Would you like
to join us while we wait?”

She did. It became an experience
like no other. Now she joins them
every Saturday, greeting others.


(24 APR 10, Santa Clara CA)v3