‘In the Shadow of a Mountain’ and Other Poetry by Fern G. Z. Carr

In the Shadow of a Mountain

In the shadow of a mountain
lies a valley, lies my home

swaddled by the earth’s embrace
in sweet repose – a state of grace

in the shadow of a mountain
in a valley, in my home

where I am blind to turquoise skies
blind to the clouds wafting by

in the shadow of a mountain
in the valley where I lie

my bones beneath the verdant sod
closer to the stars and God.

Why

The inner self shines with truth,
compassion and tolerance,
pursuing enlightenment
with purposeful reverence.

Falun Dafa / Falun Gong  
Why suggest that this is wrong?

Sublime self-cultivation,
universal energy,
the Falun transforms to Gong
with transcendent synergy.

Falun Dafa / Falun Gong  
Why assert that this is wrong?

Spiritual resplendence,
harmonious existence,
selflessness and purity
are pummeled by resistance.

Falun Dafa / Falun Gong   
Why mandate that this is wrong?

China’s communist regime
fearing a loss of control,
despotizes devotees
and takes its barbaric toll.

Falun Dafa / Falun Gong
Why torture them? That’s just wrong.

Fern G. Z. Carr is a member of and former Poet-in-Residence for the League of Canadian Poets. She composes and translates poetry in five languages. A 2013 Pushcart Prize nominee, Carr has been published extensively world-wide from Finland to the Seychelles. Some of Carr’s poetry was taught at West Virginia University and was featured online in Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe and Mail. Her poem, “I Am”, was chosen by the Parliamentary Poet Laureate as Poem of the Month for Canada. Carr is thrilled to have one of her poems currently orbiting the planet Mars aboard NASA’S MAVEN spacecraft.

Feature Image: “Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California” (1868), by Albert Bierstadt

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