By Liz Darcy Jones

This
is the crux of love

crux
of the symbol

heart
of nature whether we like it or not

our
system’s toxic but when we attribute

blame
or shame to each other we contribute

to
the rot

Nature’s
web gives us our lead

irreverent and shameless

it
holds every one blameless!

Still
we do not learn and douse ourselves

and
shame and blame’s dirty oil

incendiaries
which then inflame

our
hearts’ already desert soil

Can
we appreciate our system’s toxic

and
accept each one of us forgets

the
one to which we’re born –

begging
us to honour all its non-judgemental wild?

will
I harden arteries with blame and shame

or
be the bloody love which pumps

the
heart of every creature, man and child?

This
is the type of blood to keep the world alive

this
is the blood without which we will not survive.

P.S.
Some say we need shame to bring us to our knees in grief…

No.
Accept its presence [beat] but make your meeting personal and brief.

Shame
is unattended guilt, and guilt – painful prompt to acts of
restitution –

guilt
calls for gentle understanding, shifts the silt

of
pain, regret, self-harm

it
asks me (me, alone since others’ lives I do not own)

am
I toxifying our system further with my shame and blame

or
learning to play clean in nature’s game?
for nature’s game
insists not one of us is left out –

and
often gives the tiniest player greatest clout!