Reading
No.39
Reader
Judy Collins
Singer + songwriter
Recorded in New York City
Artwork
Joe Lyward
Human Inside Albatross/
Albatross Inside Human
Ink on tracing paper, animated GIF
O Wedding-Guest! this soul hath been
Alone on a wide wide sea:
So lonely 'twas, that God himself
Scarce seemèd there to be.
O sweeter than the marriage-feast,
'Tis sweeter far to me,
To walk together to the kirk
With a goodly company!—
To walk together to the kirk,
And all together pray,
While each to his great Father bends,
Old men, and babes, and loving friends
And youths and maidens gay!
Once I believed that the greatest threats to our existence were the exploitation and fracture of biodiversity, the collapse of essential ecosystems and their life giving services, ever more rapid global climate change.
Once I believed our science and technology, while still growing, were good, complete enough to understand and to tackle all these threats. They are. But I was wrong.
Now? I believe the greatest threats to our existence are greed, selfishness, stupidity, and, encompassing, nursing and feeding all of these there is Fear. No amount of cardiovascular surgery can heal a broken heart. 'The Rime' has much to teach.
John Spicer