Planet Earth & Earth Song

Planet Earth (poem)

Michael Jackson

 

Planet Earth, my home, my place

A capricious anomaly in the sea of space

Planet Earth are you just

Floating by, a cloud of dust

A minor globe, about to bust

A piece of metal bound to rust

A speck of matter in a mindless void

A lonely spaceship, a large asteroid

 

Cold as a rock without a hue

Held together with a bit of glue

Something tells me this isn't true

You are my swweetheart soft and blue

Do you care, have you a part

In the deepest emotions of my own heart

Tender with breezes caressing and whole

Alive with music, haunting my soul.

 

In my veins I've felt the mystery

Of corridors of time, books of history

Life songs of ages throbbing in my blood

Have danced the rhythm of the tide and flood

Your misty clouds, your electric storm

Were turbulent tempests in my own form

I've licked the salt, the bitter, the sweet

Of every encounter, of passion, of heat

Your riotous color, your fragrance, your taste

Have thrilled my senses beyond all haste

In your beauty, I've known the how

Of timeless bliss, this moment of now

 

Planet Earth are you just

Floating by, a cloud of dust

A minor globe, about to bust

A piece of metal bound to rust

A speck of matter in a mindless void

A lonely spaceship, a large asteroid

Cold as a rock without a hue

Held together with a bit of glue

Something tells me this isn't true

You are my swweetheart gentle and blue

Do you care, have you a part

In the deepest emotions of my own heart

Tender with breezes caressing and whole

Alive with music, haunting my soul.

Planet Earth, gentle and blue

With all my heart, I love you

 

---

 

Earth Song

Michael Jackson

 

What about sunrise

What about rain

What about all the things

That you said we were to gain.. .

What about killing fields

Is there a time

What about all the things

That you said was yours and mine...

Did you ever stop to notice

All the blood we've shed before

Did you ever stop to notice

The crying Earth the weeping shores?

 

Aaaaaaaaaah Aaaaaaaaaah

 

What have we done to the world

Look what we've done

What about all the peace

That you pledge your only son...

What about flowering fields

Is there a time

What about all the dreams

That you said was yours and mine...

Did you ever stop to notice

All the children dead from war

Did you ever stop to notice

The crying Earth the weeping shores

 

Aaaaaaaaaaah Aaaaaaaaaaah

 

I used to dream

I used to glance beyond the stars

Now I don't know where we are

Although I know we've drifted far

 

Aaaaaaaaaaah Aaaaaaaaaaaah

Aaaaaaaaaaah Aaaaaaaaaaaah

 

Hey, what about yesterday

(What about us)

What about the seas

(What about us)

The heavens are falling down

(What about us)

I can't even breathe

(What about us)

What about the bleeding Earth

(What about us)

Can't we feel its wounds

(What about us)

What about nature's worth

(ooo,ooo)

It's our planet's womb

(What about us)

What about animals

(What about it)

We've turned kingdoms to dust

(What about us)

What about elephants

(What about us)

Have we lost their trust

(What about us)

What about crying whales

(What about us)

We're ravaging the seas

(What about us)

What about forest trails

(ooo, ooo)

Burnt despite our pleas

(What about us)

What about the holy land

(What about it)

Torn apart by creed

(What about us)

What about the common man

(What about us)

Can't we set him free

(What about us)

What about children dying

(What about us)

Can't you hear them cry

(What about us)

Where did we go wrong

(ooo, ooo)

Someone tell me why

(What about us)

What about babies

(What about it)

What about the days

(What about us)

What about all their joy

(What about us)

What about the man

(What about us)

What about the crying man

(What about us)

What about Abraham

(What was us)

What about death again

(ooo, ooo)

Do we give a damn

 

 

 

Earth Day

    Earth Day was started in 1970 by then U.S. Senator of Wisconsin, Gaylord Nelson.  He proposed the first nationwide environmental protest, addressing such related issues as endangered species and pollution.  On April 22, twenty million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment.  The first Earth Day led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species acts.

    As I sit here and write what Earth Day means to me, I am reminded of a poem and a song Michael Jackson wrote--Planet Earth and Earth Song.  The video to Earth Song illustrates well what Earth Day is all about, as it shows the various ways Earth has been destroyed and the affects of the destruction.  The words to his poem and song will follow.  For me, Earth Day is not only a day to commemorate addressing environmental issues and the establishment of environmental organizations.  It is also a day to thank G*d for our planet and to remind us how we should appreciate and take care of what G*d has given us--trees and plants, animals, water, air, and soil, and each other--rather than just take all these for granted.  We all need each other and all these things around us to survive.

    In the small community that I live in in south central Minnesota, there are people who are trying to make a difference, such as the use of wind power and solar power.  For example, solar powered street signs are being installed.  The streets are also cleaned on a regular basis to remove the litter, dust, and other debris.  Every spring, I look forward to hearing the birds as they return from the south.  Micaiah and I always have a bowl of water and bird food scattered in our yard.  We have counted at least ten or more species of birds who come to partake of our generosity.  It is amazing when we forget to put food and water out.  The birds peck at our screen and chirp loudly until we respond.  They even seem to know what room in our house we are in at the time.  Geese also fly overhead, and we see the older geese teach their young.  Every summer, Micaiah and I always walked to the dam, which is two blocks from our house, to watch the fish swim and watch people fishing.  On Rosh Hashanah, we performed our ceremony at the dam.  However, instead of throwing the fish back into the water, like the fishers used to, people started leaving the fish they caught on the grass to die.  Micaiah and I started seeing an increase of dead fish.  Then, last year, the dam was turned off, leaving the water to remain stagnant instead of free flowing with the waterfall created by the dam.  We enjoyed going to the dam because listening to the waterfall was like being in a different world.  Now, that "different world" seems to be out of our reach.

Earth Day is not only for demonstrations and speeches, but it is also for Tikk olam, which is Hebrew for "making the world a better place".  We can make the world a better place in numerous ways--planting more trees and other plants, picking up litter in your yard and the streets, teaching people about the different kinds of birds they hear in their backyards so that they know what they are, etc.  As The Late Michael Jackson said, "make a better place for you and for me." (Heal The World)

 

Makedah bat Leah. 

 

 

 

Passover/Pesach 1476 B.C.E. & 2010 C.E.

                                                  Passover/Pesach 1476 B.C.E. & 2010 C.E.

 

 

Moses returns to Egypt, where God again says his name to Moses. God instructs Moses to appear before the pharaoh and inform him of God's demand that he let God's people go. Moses and his brother Aaron do so, but pharaoh refuses. God causes a series of plagues to strike Egypt, but whenever pharaoh begins to relent God "hardens his heart". God instructs Moses to institute the Passover sacrifice among the Israelites, and kills all the firstborn children and livestock throughout Egypt. The pharaoh then agrees to let the Israelites go. Moses explains the meaning of the Passover: it is for Israel's salvation from Egypt, so that the Israelites will not be required to sacrifice their own sons, but to redeem them. [1]

Moses advised the Hebrew slaves to sacrifice unblemished lambs and then painted the their door post with the lamb's blood so that the Angel of Death would passed over the homes of the Hebrews and kill the First Born of Egypt. Whether they were members of the royal family or a lowly servant, first born and not living in a house with lamb's blood on their door post, they were not spared the raft of G*d's avenging Angel. It was the tenth and final plague that broke the resistance of Pharaoh and he let the Hebrews go.  Passover is our holiday to remember we were "passed over" by the Angel of Death and we were slaves in Egypt.  When the Hebrew slaves left Egypt they did so in great haste before Pharaoh could change his mind. This is why we are commanded to eat only unleavened bread for seven days.  In "Exodus12:37 refers to 600,000 adult Israelite men leaving Egypt with Moses, plus an unspecified but apparently large "mixed multitude" of non-Israelites; Numbers 1:46 gives a more precise total of 603,550.  The number of Hebrews and non-Hebrews who fled Egypt is not what is important but their reason for leaving was.  For generations they suffered under the Egyptian's inhumane and cruel bondage.  They were slaves as were their ancestors and if Pharaoh had been allowed to have his way; their future descendents would have also been slaves.  Our Deliverance has been celebrated by Jews ever since.

This Passover 2010 C.E., Makedah and I had our grandchildren.  We were giving our daughter a break. The three boys are eighteen months, three years and six years old. They are being raised as Christians. We introduce them to the meaning of Passover.  Before the three boys came, Makedah and I were informed there is strong evidence two of the boys could have Autism.  This revelation did not really hit home until I began thinking about Passover.  Makedah and I are both minorities in a country, state, county and community that are overwhelmingly white (European), Christian, Anti-Semitic, xenophobic and racist.  Just as the Egyptians feared the increase in Hebrews could one day lead to an uprising and the over throw of their society. This same fear is resurfacing and growing among many whites here in America. The election of a Black man to be President looks good on the world stage but nothing has changed on "Main Street".  Our grandchildren will have to endure the same social isolation, racism, segregation and unequal treatment as Makedah and I do now.  They will have to accept this yoke of oppression as their ancestors have for centuries, with no certain hope of an end to their social and economic slavery.  The iron chains may have been removed from our wrists, ankles, and or necks however, newer, stronger and invisible chains have taken the iron ones place and they are even more restrictive.  The two of us already know from personal experience these invisible chains use social pressure and social isolation on White American who dares to want interracial sex, interracial dating, and interracial families.  Non-whites already earn less than their white counterparts, live in slum like conditions and die long before their time. 

Passover comes and goes each year. But, the memories of slavery remain fresh in the minds and collective conscience of most non-White Americans.  Our grandchildren will have no Moses to lead them out of bondage. All of our most respected and trusted leaders have been killed or disgraced; our institutions and community support systems have been all but eliminated. The brown, yellow, red and black communities have been played on off one and the other, until they cannot or will not unite for the betterment of all. If our grandchildren are to make it to The Promised Land, we cannot wait on another Moses.  Makedah and I are determined our children will not suffer as our ancestors did and as we do now. We do not paint lamb's blood on our doorpost, but we do fly the Magen Star flag outside our home. It is probably the only one for one hundred or more miles. But when the Spirit of G*d Passover our home, it will know we are His & Her children and all are welcome join our Caravan of Love.  We do not have to imagine servitude in ancient Egypt; we live it each day of our lives.

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Exodus