Sitting here, on my porch,

Sipping on a marvelous Colombian coffee

Eased with vanilla cream,

I reflect on how the planet serves me!

How the Eco world is inside me,

and all around me.

I gather I am the eco world.

My body is made up of all that is alive,

All that is wholesome,

All that makes up this universe.

I am nothing and everything.

The sun, the moon, the earth,

Plants, bugs, animals, water, heat, cold

Sweet, sour, salt, and bitterness, too.

I come from a blossom,

Whom with her short-lived life,

Smiles to the sun and welcomes the bug

To impregnate her belly.

And I owe her fruit to the bug,

Who arrives just in time to help fulfill her promise.

The bug too has very little time,

As the lizard carefully crawls up the Jacaranda

Instantly, snatching the bug,

Who just made love to the blossom,

For his morning meal.

And, the neighborhood hawk is circling above,

Gazing through the trees and rocks

And the satisfied lizard is ready for the hawk.

Life continues,

As the gentle breeze brings the Jacaranda to life.

The bright pink bougainvillea dashes into the scene,

Messaging the hummingbirds for a rendezvous.

And the hummingbirds arrive,

Full of vigor to feed and do their part.

As I bite a piece of bread, made of wheat,

Pollinated by the bugs,

Dependant on the earth, the sun, the oceans

Cycles of heat, clouds, and the rain,

I realize how everything I eat

Depends on this interdependent chain.

Every bite brings the world into me.

With every exhalation, I join the Eco World.

And I know I must care for its gifts.

For I am the Eco World.

Dr. Manijeh Motaghy

Pen name: Ahoo Manijeh

August 7, 2023