I am lying back, down and flat surrendering into Ancestral stone crusting coal and carboniferous fossil, listening through my body to their deep and ancient ways. The incessant sound of strong winds moves me. Waves and wind embrace like devoted lovers who have been oceans apart for centuries yearning to be together, and now meeting their desire fully. Tide breathes out near my left side. I hear splatters of waves danced by currents of air and salt water. Herring gulls soar silently north toward dunbar rocks whilst hushed black crows and long shags fly quietly low almost kissing sea through evening’s dusky notes amongst a wild symphony as the horizon curve pinks and red shanks sing out sharp and clear. There are no bar lines here, just a continuum of different notes moving in and out through the cold winter air. Whitesands; I was here for the first Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus last year watching the curve, pink rising and herring gulls singing south. I’m here again, reflecting on that first day and now moving towards the first invitation of this year’s Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus.
I am remembering with amazement over 1,000 visits to the Earthsongwave website with visitors, no visa required, from New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China, India, Tanzania, South Africa, Israel, Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, Greece, Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, UK, Ireland, Canada, USA, Guatemala, Cost Rica, and Brazil, whilst visitors to the pinned Facebook post now reaching 2,904. Remembering people feeling a resonance with knowing other folks singing around the world concurrently, creating a wave of song together in praise, offering, gratitude, curiosity and more. Remembering people’s hearing and feeling responses.
This year’s invitation reaches out to you at dusk in the northern hemisphere and dawn in the southern hemisphere; to sing with the dawn on 1 April wherever you are. Our dawn song seems to me to be even more vital; this week alone for a few examples, witnessing the extinction of the Eastern Puma in the USA, the last one of the Knysna Elephants, a grandmother, wandering on her own in South Africa, refugee families who have survived being separated without being reunited, and the possibility of human extinction becoming less a narrative of science fiction and denial moving into reality; surely a heartbreaking open grief song. Through the year l have also heard experiences of Earth singing, whether we arouse her or/and she arouses us is surely a joy song. What if singing this wild way around the Earth is essential, radical even; what if Earth and Earth Community is dying for longing of our deep lover’s reciprocal song separated over these centuries needing us like devoted lovers to sing-in winds, oceans, lands, mountains, blossoms, birds, skies, animals, insects, fish, kelp,…. What if humans are Earth’s flowering nectar, food for Earth; and by refusing our own flowering in this way, our own song, we may well be refusing this miracle life and Earth herself.
You are invited to sing your nectar for Earth at dawn on 1 April. All information is on the website www.earthsongwave.com and on the Earthsongwave Facebook page where there will be regular postings with Earthsongs, articles, information, poems, quotes and invitations. You will also find a leaflet on the website you can download and print for display and sharing widely, madly, deeply.
One of many invitations towards Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus: you might let yourself be found/find a place near to where you live, you might feel a particular allurement in this place, or maybe even feel repelled here. Take time in these weeks, maybe once a week or more, to know here as you would a new friend, befriend here. Speak out loud to the beings here, tell here or a particular being (tree, stone, plant, rabbit hole etc) about yourself and about Earthsongwave Dawn Chorus. You might lie on the Earth as l do above. Allow notes to arise naturally from your body, your mouth when you are here and let yourself be surprised even if it feels a bit strange to begin with. Allow whatever needs to said and sung, listen and watch for responses, begin conversations and songs, keep a journal and notice your dreams following your singing wanders and “Don’t try to end it. Be your note.” Rilke~
Collage by Doug Van Houten