On Being Alive

From the above author...

Ask a snake what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
feeling the grass on my belly.

Ask a bluebird what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
flying high above the world.

Ask a tree what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
being rooted in one place.

Ask an ant what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
trying not to get stepped on.

Ask a coyote what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
being smarter than the rest.

Ask a snail what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
going at my own pace.

Ask a river what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
finding freedom of the wildest kind.

Ask the wind what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
blowing whichever way I want.

Ask a meadowlark what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
singing the sweetest song I know.

Ask a porcupine what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
learning to be myself.

Ask a rainbow what it means to be alive,
and it will tell you,
spreading beauty around the earth.

Each thing in nature is gloriously alive,
giving us a clear reason
why the Creator put it there.

--"Dancing Moons" by Nancy Wood...a series of meditations and poems