For All

by Gary Snyder


Original Language English

Ah to be alive
on a mid-September morn
fording a stream
barefoot, pants rolled up,
holding boots, pack on,
sunshine, ice in the shallows,
northern rockies.

Rustle and shimmer of icy creek waters
stones turn underfoot, small and hard as toes
cold nose dripping
singing inside
creek music, heart music,
smell of sun on gravel.

I pledge allegiance

I pledge allegiance to the soil
of Turtle Island,
and to the beings who thereon dwell
one ecosystem
in diversity
under the sun
With joyful interpenetration for all.

-- from The Gary Snyder Reader: Prose, Poetry and Translations, by Gary Snyder

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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

We just passed the Autumn Equinox, and you can feel the shift in seasons here in Colorado: cool mornings, crystal blue skies, the first hint of fall colors on the aspens.

Ah to be alive
on a mid-September morn

A silent man, walking in solitude by a mountain stream... We begin to see what is real and what really deserves our allegiance.


Enjoy a quiet walk today. See what life you notice, and how it all flows together. A good opportunity to examine our allegiances.

Have a beautiful day!



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For All