The following is a poem by our friend Martha Schut

Calling

She wept for years,
for a long time quietly
in barely a whisper

It seems that only some heard
the pitch of her voice
as a dog hears a whistle or
a deer the smallest crack of a twig underfoot

Perhaps it was because years ago she complained
so softly as she concentrated to right herself into balance

She is louder now;
forces threaten her very existence

Some hear her and feel wrenched
Others continue their day as if little has happened
Still others new to her don’t know what she was like before

Everything is different

Surely all can hear her wail

At first it was a leaf turned,
a stream over its banks
then a tree pulled from its roots

How her struggles have changed

Here in this county just yesterday
after a beautiful sunny June morning
a semi was overturned
a building roof blown off

And the levees broke in the
western part of the state