"Earth's Chorus"

a poem, nature journal pages, and a journal prompt (that lowers blood pressure!)

Photo by Olena Bohovyk on Unsplash

// Earth’s Chorus //

I hear the gentlest breeze seep through soft, heart-shaped leaves,

Trickling micro waterfalls over river boulders,

Cicada’s rhythmic summer song,

Clicking guttural bass from frogs on the riverbank -

When I move close, they cease serenading.

Is the rustling of leaves a deer or squirrel?

And of all the birds, the caw of the crow takes me back to autumns in Virginia;

Busy in the treetops, their chatter overpowers all winged things.

My feet crunch the path,

And stopping to observe the mass of flying things over the amanita,

I hear the faintest rustling, no doubt from the smallest creature –

Alas! A large dung beetle parades over crispy leaves and sweet gum balls,

His armor glows in summer sun.

There are more sounds I ignore –

Of construction and destruction beyond the limits of sacred spaces.

I watch the robin silently peck the ground and retrieve his worm to the sound of a harsh, beeping vehicle. He ignores them, too.

And then I am caught up in wonder,

With the symphony of the Earth,

And what I can’t hear,

When all creation praises –

The song of the tadpole (and there were thousands of them today),

The song of the trillium, the wild honeysuckle, and buttonbush

The song of the Oak, Maple and Tulip,

All in their native tongues

Oh can you imagine the chorus?

My ears wouldn’t know such pleasure.

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Nature journal pages from the hike that inspired this poem:

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Journal Prompt: Create a Sound Map

The first activity I did in my master naturalist class was a sound map. We brought our lawn chairs and each chose a spot to sit for thirty minutes. Before beginning, we closed our eyes, took several deep breaths, silenced our minds, and opened our hearts and ears to the sounds we’d hear ahead. The next thirty minutes were dedicated to recording every sound we heard on our sound maps.

To make a sound map, draw a large circle in your journal and put an ‘x’ in the middle. That represents where your position is relative to the sounds you hear. You can either sketch the sounds you hear (a bird, car, person, leaves, etc.) or write them. You can always make it pretty and draw sketches with your words later.

Then, pay attention to every sound you hear and record it on your map relative to where you are sitting. If it’s close by, mark it in your circle. If it is a far-off sound, mark it outside of the circle. Continue for a designated time, like 20 minutes. Go longer if you’d like!

Sound maps are an excellent activity to practice mindfulness and, bonus, it lowers your blood pressure! You can create a sound map anywhere; you don’t have to be in nature. You can create one from your own back yard, like I did.

Sound maps are also great activities to do with kids of all ages! Perfect for little nature journalers.

Lastly, after you’ve created your map, it’s the perfect opportunity to give thanks to God the Father who gave us so much beauty, in song and sound. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for ears to hear all of this beauty.

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