“Of the Land”

Poetry amid pandemic.

Jenn Smith Thorp

Articles\Mindful, Articles\Nature

mindful, mindfulness, nature, poem, poetry

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I think to myself, “I can’t do it all.” 
I can’t give like this. 
Anymore.
So often.
So tenderly.

I can’t give like
the land gives.

I can’t support the stem like 
the roots can. 
An intricate system of tendril extensions.
A fine collection of tangled art.

I am not fine.
The sun is too strong.
The wind, too abrasive.
External forces harry my inner voice.
The tangles are knots.
The wellness is well-less.. 
I am not well.

I summon the quick, sharp prunings of my outer leaves,
But that is all.
The only order is that in my appearance.
A facade. A fake aid. 

Am I getting enough water? 
Can the phosphorus and potassium and 
calcium cling to hollowed bones?

The single stem of my being holds a bustling, blooming bud,
and holds high on its chest a perfect gathering of pollens and petals.
It is all I can do to keep it upright. 

Should the wind blow.
Should the rains come.
Should the gopher sniff too close. 
I don’t know what will become of me.
Of us.

I’m called to find the well again. 
To drink from the reserve. 
The inner-pruning 
begins now.
Again.
And again.
I can’t do it all. 
I can’t give like this.

But I am of the land.

Jenn Smith Thorp is a Texan living in Silicon Valley as a yoga teacher and farmer. You read that right. The irony is real. Jenn is of the belief that the way we move our bodies doesn't have to be extra fancy or extra bendy to be effective, and that finding solutions to make yoga and movement practices accessible to all bodies and abilities is important. Doc, the farm dog, is her most beloved pal, her favorite smell is that of a tomato bed at dusk*, and if not in the kitchen, you'll find her near a tent donning a headlamp and a s'more. *Ok, campfire smell comes in at a close 2nd. For more of Jenn's yoga offerings and iterations of the word "y'all," visit her website at www.yoga-yall.com.