by Laura Parker Roerden
We protect what we love,
an explorer once told us.
But of what love
did he mean?
The love for a flower
or that of a son?
The love for a rock held
safe in our palm, or that for a steeple?
The love of a farmer for a seed
or of a fisherman
returning with a full hold?
Does this love pour as
honey from a jar?
Or is it more like a river,
falling to the sea?
And where can I find some?
Does it shine from the moon
Or rise like steam from
words now past.
Can I sail on its shoulder
or must I instead climb its mast?
Can we will it to others
or is it grace like sunrise?
And why don’t we have it?
When each breath has journeyed
from depths of the sea;
and our blood is made from the stars?
Laura Parker Roerden is a writer, conservationist, and part-time farmer. She is the founder of Ocean Matters and serves on the boards of Women Working for Oceans and Earth, Ltd. and is a member of the Pleiades Network of women leaders in sustainability.