The Jack Pine Seeds of Salvation

The Sentinel–
The Prophet Rachel
Has Sounded Her Trumpet.

Do We Not Hear or Heed
The Deafening Silence
Of Spring?

The Hour is Now for Us
To Awaken
From Our Slumber.

No Longer Can We Ignore
The Billowing Blackness
Of Material Man’s Ignorance.

Arrogance’s Beguiling Smoke has
Clouded Visions;
Hardened Hearts and
Choked the Collective Conscious.

Breathe and Allow the Tears to:
Cleanse the Eyes;
Bless Our Hearts and
Restore the Common Soul.

Earth’s Embers Hold the Truth.
So Stir into Flame the Gift of God, and
Release the Jack Pine Seeds of Our Salvation.

Life Recalls the Mystery of Growing in Ashes.
Our Mother’s Embrace Will Do the Rest
And Nourish and Support New Roots.

Make Straight the Path;
Parse the Illusionary Veil and
Recall the Rainbow–
The Sign of the Covenant.
— Jack Uldrich

[Grace notes: The “Prophet Rachel” refers to Rachel Carson. The phrase “deafening silence of spring” is an ode to her 1962 classic environmental science book, “The Silent Spring.” The line “The hour is now to awaken from your slumber” is lifted from Romans 13:11. “The phrase “stir into the flame the gift of God” is from 1 Timothy 1:6, and the phrase “The Rainbow of the Covenant” is also taken from the Bible–Genesis 9:13. Also, if you don’t know the cones of Jack Pine tree have the unusual trait of primarily releasing their seeds under intense heat. In this way, Jack Pines play a critical role restoring forests after fires have ravished the land. The photo is of me in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area in 2020.]