PEGI EYERS
When most people see a plowed field, they have positive associations with a good harvest, the bucolic nature of rural spaces, good maintenance of the land, and notions of abundance and nutrition. When I see a plowed field, I am compelled to OFFER A THOUSAND APOLOGIES.
Apologies to the tiny maple, alder, ash, oak and elm tree seedlings, drifted into the field from the hedgerows, who were lost before they even began.
Apologies to the abundant insect life, crucial and helpful species in the web of life, who dwelt in the fields and were lost to the machine.
Apologies to the birds who were nesting, resting, burrowing or spending the nights in the fields, who were either lost to the machine or displaced.
Apologies to the scattered seeds from countless species who were denied or destroyed, and were not allowed to provide food for birds or wildlife.
Apologies to the sacred soil that continues to be subjected to chemical sprays, and that gets damaged year after year without a chance to recover.
Apologies to the native plant species who after gaining a foothold in one short season, were subject to annihilation.
Apologies to the earthworms who were exposed to the surface of the land, and destroyed or displaced.
Apologies to the rocks and stones, who inhabiting this land from time immemorial, were cracked, crushed, displaced or destroyed.
Apologies to the plant and animal species that were destroyed by rainfall runoff from barren exposed fields.
Apologies to the coyote mothers, who misjudging their safety, had their sacred womb-space dens, babies and very lives destroyed or displaced.
Apologies to the wild turkey mothers, who misjudging their safety, had their sacred womb-nests, babies and very lives destroyed or displaced.
Apologies to the rabbit mothers, who misjudging their safety, had their sacred womb-burrows, babies and very lives destroyed or displaced.
Apologies to the mice, voles, groundhogs, snakes and other burrow-dwellers who relocated to the wrong place, and were displaced or destroyed.
Apologies to the plant and animal species that were displaced or destroyed by the installation of land boundaries and fencing.
Apologies to the magnificent old-growth forests, that covered this land before it was subject to the colonial worldview, and "cleared" by the axe, plow, tractor, harvester, earth-mover, bulldozer and mega-machine.
Apologies to all the wildlife, birds, insects, amphibians and reptiles who were destroyed or displaced – in short, the Earth Community – who inhabited the old-growth forest that covered this land before the over-planted, over-harvested field.
Apologies to the ancient sacred fungal mycelium networks that were destroyed or displaced due to colonial monoculture practices.
Apologies to the ancient sacred lichen and mosses who were destroyed or displaced due to colonial monoculture practices.
Apologies to the ancient primordial beings in the land, who are insulted and mocked by this desecration.
Apologies to the earth spirits and the perennial magic they carry, who were banished or displaced.
Apologies to the deer, raccoons, rabbits, fox, coyotes, swallows, crows, and other wildlife and birds, who continue to be terrorized by the horrible noise and clatter of machines in the fields 5 to 7 times a year.
Apologies to the deer, raccoons and other species who must find the courage to cross vast open spaces, without a green tunnel, to get to the ecosystems where they need to go.
And finally, apologies to Earth Community for the misguided and greedy humans, who 7000 years ago decided that stockpiling food and building Empire was a good idea.
*********
a·pol·o·gy
/əˈpäləjē/
noun
1.
a regretful acknowledgment of an offense or failure.
"we owe you an apology"
Similar:
expression of regret
one's regrets
amende honorable
apols
beg-pardon
2.
a very poor or inadequate example of.
Apologies to the tiny maple, alder, ash, oak and elm tree seedlings, drifted into the field from the hedgerows, who were lost before they even began.
Apologies to the abundant insect life, crucial and helpful species in the web of life, who dwelt in the fields and were lost to the machine.
Apologies to the birds who were nesting, resting, burrowing or spending the nights in the fields, who were either lost to the machine or displaced.
Apologies to the scattered seeds from countless species who were denied or destroyed, and were not allowed to provide food for birds or wildlife.
Apologies to the sacred soil that continues to be subjected to chemical sprays, and that gets damaged year after year without a chance to recover.
Apologies to the native plant species who after gaining a foothold in one short season, were subject to annihilation.
Apologies to the earthworms who were exposed to the surface of the land, and destroyed or displaced.
Apologies to the rocks and stones, who inhabiting this land from time immemorial, were cracked, crushed, displaced or destroyed.
Apologies to the plant and animal species that were destroyed by rainfall runoff from barren exposed fields.
Apologies to the coyote mothers, who misjudging their safety, had their sacred womb-space dens, babies and very lives destroyed or displaced.
Apologies to the wild turkey mothers, who misjudging their safety, had their sacred womb-nests, babies and very lives destroyed or displaced.
Apologies to the rabbit mothers, who misjudging their safety, had their sacred womb-burrows, babies and very lives destroyed or displaced.
Apologies to the mice, voles, groundhogs, snakes and other burrow-dwellers who relocated to the wrong place, and were displaced or destroyed.
Apologies to the plant and animal species that were displaced or destroyed by the installation of land boundaries and fencing.
Apologies to the magnificent old-growth forests, that covered this land before it was subject to the colonial worldview, and "cleared" by the axe, plow, tractor, harvester, earth-mover, bulldozer and mega-machine.
Apologies to all the wildlife, birds, insects, amphibians and reptiles who were destroyed or displaced – in short, the Earth Community – who inhabited the old-growth forest that covered this land before the over-planted, over-harvested field.
Apologies to the ancient sacred fungal mycelium networks that were destroyed or displaced due to colonial monoculture practices.
Apologies to the ancient sacred lichen and mosses who were destroyed or displaced due to colonial monoculture practices.
Apologies to the ancient primordial beings in the land, who are insulted and mocked by this desecration.
Apologies to the earth spirits and the perennial magic they carry, who were banished or displaced.
Apologies to the deer, raccoons, rabbits, fox, coyotes, swallows, crows, and other wildlife and birds, who continue to be terrorized by the horrible noise and clatter of machines in the fields 5 to 7 times a year.
Apologies to the deer, raccoons and other species who must find the courage to cross vast open spaces, without a green tunnel, to get to the ecosystems where they need to go.
And finally, apologies to Earth Community for the misguided and greedy humans, who 7000 years ago decided that stockpiling food and building Empire was a good idea.
*********
a·pol·o·gy
/əˈpäləjē/
noun
1.
a regretful acknowledgment of an offense or failure.
"we owe you an apology"
Similar:
expression of regret
one's regrets
amende honorable
apols
beg-pardon
2.
a very poor or inadequate example of.
insights & comments on social media:
If it brings you solace, I feel. I feel the complete normalization of harm to every living creature to center human wants, and every human to center the building of Empire. It is as if there is no other way to live life other than senseless capitalization.
Bina Salimath
Stockpiling of food = safely storing food to get through the winter 🥶 and difficult weather conditions. Having extra food fundamentally changed and catapulted early civilisations in Mesopotamia Iraq Iran and Turkey - this was the beginning of writing, poetry games and family security. Having excess food spurred on other forms of art and spiritual worship because not everyone was involved in growing and finding food. The land between the Euphrates and the Tigris was cleared of reeds six thousand years ago and began that agricultural revolution. What is terrible 😞 is that humans haven’t learnt how to live in harmony with the abundance and materials we have. The planet will survive. Will we?
Bernadette Vallely
Yes feeling this with you. Grief in throat and heart 💔How deeply we ALL are embedded together . I see what u c 😭
Cindy Lanese
When the farms came in, I so mourned for the life that was taken away. Now I see farm land being taken away for development of warehouses that sit empty for years, or houses so big you can hear your echo. Now I mourn for the crops being taken away. I mourn for the soil that will be stripped of its nutrients. We as humans have to kill to survive.. If it's plants or animals. Most species have to kill to live. It just seems humans do it with no regard. We have become so disconnected from all life.. We don't see its value, its important role in our lives to have a healthy ecosystem. We need to teach our kids to go barefoot again, to connect to the earth, its creatures and treasure all life!
Ann Sativa
Thank you Pegi. This is how I feel every day. I finally had to leave the midwestern U.S. because of all the environment destruction. The last straw was all the animals I witnessed running away from developers tearing up more land for rich gated communities. I was very depressed but moving to the Southwest changed my outlook.
Shetopia Dewes
·
The vast majority of "developed" land is deliberately designed to be largely devoid of life.
Marcus Sheffer
They’re developing a field by me that has been just growing wildlife the past two years for more 600k builder grade housing. It’s so upsetting, and doesn’t even help those that need housing the most.
Naomi Kroll
Q. How do you know from this picture that this land isn't just resting, or ready to plant? Sandy Calverley
A. The leaves on the trees are green. The field is entirely brown. So it is not fall yet. You can see that there is virtually no life in the field. If there was you would see some green. If it was resting there would be some green growing too. They get it ready to plant by spraying it with herbicides to kill the plant life and then typically no till drill. Maybe it is getting ready for another crop or maybe a cover crop. They spray it with toxic manure for fertilizer that pollutes the waters. They spray it with herbicides that don't affect the GMO crops. The point is that our industrial agricultural system grows monoculture crops that rely on killing all other competing life (no plants no bugs, no bugs no birds, no wildlife) in an effort to maximize "production" (i.e. profit). Worse yet is that the farmer actually does receive the lion's share of the profit from the crops they grow. The system is simply not healthy ecologically or economically.
Marcus Sheffer
Apology.
We owe so many.
And this one is a keystone.
And one that we could change.
Jodie Harburt
Tilled, bare ground is biocide.
Carmine Leo
Thank you so very much for this awareness check.
Carol Keiter ·
A harvest of ecological sensibilities.
Stician Samples
I join the apologies.
Linda Whitlow
This is the reason I never use the word "development" for the gouging and hammering away at our Mother's green body. I say "degradation" and "degraders."
Esther Essinger
Bina Salimath
Stockpiling of food = safely storing food to get through the winter 🥶 and difficult weather conditions. Having extra food fundamentally changed and catapulted early civilisations in Mesopotamia Iraq Iran and Turkey - this was the beginning of writing, poetry games and family security. Having excess food spurred on other forms of art and spiritual worship because not everyone was involved in growing and finding food. The land between the Euphrates and the Tigris was cleared of reeds six thousand years ago and began that agricultural revolution. What is terrible 😞 is that humans haven’t learnt how to live in harmony with the abundance and materials we have. The planet will survive. Will we?
Bernadette Vallely
Yes feeling this with you. Grief in throat and heart 💔How deeply we ALL are embedded together . I see what u c 😭
Cindy Lanese
When the farms came in, I so mourned for the life that was taken away. Now I see farm land being taken away for development of warehouses that sit empty for years, or houses so big you can hear your echo. Now I mourn for the crops being taken away. I mourn for the soil that will be stripped of its nutrients. We as humans have to kill to survive.. If it's plants or animals. Most species have to kill to live. It just seems humans do it with no regard. We have become so disconnected from all life.. We don't see its value, its important role in our lives to have a healthy ecosystem. We need to teach our kids to go barefoot again, to connect to the earth, its creatures and treasure all life!
Ann Sativa
Thank you Pegi. This is how I feel every day. I finally had to leave the midwestern U.S. because of all the environment destruction. The last straw was all the animals I witnessed running away from developers tearing up more land for rich gated communities. I was very depressed but moving to the Southwest changed my outlook.
Shetopia Dewes
·
The vast majority of "developed" land is deliberately designed to be largely devoid of life.
Marcus Sheffer
They’re developing a field by me that has been just growing wildlife the past two years for more 600k builder grade housing. It’s so upsetting, and doesn’t even help those that need housing the most.
Naomi Kroll
Q. How do you know from this picture that this land isn't just resting, or ready to plant? Sandy Calverley
A. The leaves on the trees are green. The field is entirely brown. So it is not fall yet. You can see that there is virtually no life in the field. If there was you would see some green. If it was resting there would be some green growing too. They get it ready to plant by spraying it with herbicides to kill the plant life and then typically no till drill. Maybe it is getting ready for another crop or maybe a cover crop. They spray it with toxic manure for fertilizer that pollutes the waters. They spray it with herbicides that don't affect the GMO crops. The point is that our industrial agricultural system grows monoculture crops that rely on killing all other competing life (no plants no bugs, no bugs no birds, no wildlife) in an effort to maximize "production" (i.e. profit). Worse yet is that the farmer actually does receive the lion's share of the profit from the crops they grow. The system is simply not healthy ecologically or economically.
Marcus Sheffer
Apology.
We owe so many.
And this one is a keystone.
And one that we could change.
Jodie Harburt
Tilled, bare ground is biocide.
Carmine Leo
Thank you so very much for this awareness check.
Carol Keiter ·
A harvest of ecological sensibilities.
Stician Samples
I join the apologies.
Linda Whitlow
This is the reason I never use the word "development" for the gouging and hammering away at our Mother's green body. I say "degradation" and "degraders."
Esther Essinger
Pegi Eyers is the author of Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, an award-winning book that explores strategies for social justice, uncolonization, ethnocultural identity, building
land-emergent community & resilience in times of massive change.
Available from Stone Circle Press or Amazon
land-emergent community & resilience in times of massive change.
Available from Stone Circle Press or Amazon
