the importance of no

the vitality of death to life

within us there is a powerful, wonderful impetus to have children
and to help them grow,
we are called to treasure each new attempt at perfection
by us in league with the universe,

what is also true is that we rise even higher
when we notice and value that same drive in the other:
the other person, whether human or not,
the primate, the mammal, any animal, even any plant,
who with the substance of their existence
seeks to endure and to rise into the sun,

what is much harder to get is the truth
of how many seeds are released
compared to the very few that survive to seed anew,
of how many eggs are released
compared to the very few fish that thrive,
of how many sperm and how many eggs that are potential to be
who cannot be expressed in a world without enough space to afford them,

I celebrate the impulse to parent
and the impulse to parent well,

I also celebrate the wisdom to know when to say
“no more” for me,

I teach and joy in other people’s children,

I celebrate life wherever
flowers grow,
bears wander,
and eagles soar,
and I know how many deaths each life means.

by Henry Walker
July 28, ’11