March 29, 2013

The Peace Choir






Sahara Peace Choir





Sing, O heavens, shout, O depths of the earth; 

break forth into singing, O mountains,
O forest, and every tree in it!    Isaiah 44:23

 
The women come to sing.
In the cold and icy dark, we gather
to rehearse the songs of peace.

       “I’m gonna lay down my sword and shield...”

Putting aside aches and pains, and serious ills,
we come to sing with that wee bit of faith,
that last urge somewhere hidden deep in the heart.

       “Oh, if I could ring like a bell...”

The great Black Dome, the great mountain
hears them coming, the mountain heart leaping.

        "a song of peace, for their land, and for mine...”

until we arrive, there at Black Dome’s feet,
to open our mouths and hearts for Her love,
leaving our homes with all our annoyances,
to sing, to wail, to cry out
for the world we can see, within reach.

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of those who publish peace.  Isaiah 52:7


Annelinde Metzner     

April 10, 2010



While yet again, maniacal leaders call for war across the world's stage, I want to remember all of us who put our minds, bodies and spirits into the call for peace.  
     
      Sahara Peace Choir has been singing songs of world peace since 2008.   On Saturday, April 6th, 2 PM, we will sing another concert, "Everyone in the World", at Ten Thousand Villages in Montreat, North Carolina, at the foot of the incredible Black Dome, the highest peak in the East.















Black Dome (Mt. Mitchell Range, North Carolina)









March 16, 2013

Florida Panther










I won’t show you my face.
Dawn and dusk, cool nights,
I slip out and observe my succulent prey,
and I may be watching you!
I stretch out cool under saw palmetto
letting Florida sun bake and buzz and bleach,
but I move like lightening when evening falls,
and in the peripheral shadows of your dreams
I’m stalking you, too. 


Annelinde Metzner
July 1990 from "Voices of Gaia"




"Voices of Gaia" is a series of poems which I devote to endangered species in their own voices.  The Florida Panther has been on the endangered list since 1973.    The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has recently released one female into the wild at Picayune Strand State Forest, and will soon release a young male.   The female panther and her brother had been raised at the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee since they were 5 months old. The FWC rescued the two as kittens after their mother was found dead.



You can read more about the release of Florida Panthers by following this link: http://www.care2.com/causes/rare-release-of-florida-panther-could-help-save-species.html#ixzz2NhdH8XWb