The+Arts

=Welcome to a page where we can share our thoughts and ideas about THE ARTS as a form of cultural therapy for our times.=

A contribution from Mary Southard, CSJ, inspired by Thomas Berry's poem, __Morningside Cathedral__: Mary's art piece, PROPHET'S CRY, follows the poem. __Morningside Cathedral__ by Thomas Berry  We have heard in this Cathedral Bach’s Passion The Lamentations of Jeremiah Ancient experiences of darkness over the earth Light born anew But now, darkness deeper than even God Can reach, with a quick healing power What sound, What song, What cry appropriate What cry can bring a healing When a million year rainfall Can hardly wash away the life destroying stain? What sound? Listen – earth sound Listen – the wind through the hemlock, Listen – the owl’s soft hooting in the winter night Listen – the wolf – wolf song Cry of distant meanings woven into a seamless sound Never before has the cry of the wolf expressed such meaning On the winter mountainside Morningside This cry our revelation As the sun sinks lower in the sky Over our wounded world The meaning of the moment And the healing of the wound Are there in a single cry A throat open wide For the wild sacred sound Of some Great Spirit A Gothic sound – come down from the beginning of time If only humans could hear Now see the wolf as guardian spirit As saviour guide? Our Jeremiah, telling us, not about the destruction of Jerusalem or its temple Our Augustine, telling us, not about the destruction of Rome and civilization Our Bach, Telling us not about the Passion of Christ in ancient times, But about the Passion of Earth in our times. Wolf – our earth, our Christ, ourselves. The arch of the Cathedral itself takes on the shape Of the uplifted throat of the wolf Lamenting our present destiny Beseeching humankind To bring back the sun To let the flowers bloom in the meadows, The rivers run through the hills And let the Earth And all its living creatures Live their Wild, Fierce, Serene And Abundant life. //(an excerpt reproduced here with permission of the author)//