I had hoped to be able to write at least one new poem during this National Poetry Month 2024, and I did. The poem below, written for Earth Day, reflects on how we are all made of earthern materials, just as all the creation myths describe. Millenia older than writing, and still a forceful way for young humans to mark their presence, the hand print will never lose its power for either the maker or the viewer.

Terracotta


Handprints on cave walls splay,
outlined with iron oxides—
red, white, black &
yellow ochre, charcoal, clay.

Human touch everywhere:
yes, notice, too,
we are each signed, stamped
vessels of earthenware.


Leslie Schultz

I am grateful to Lynn Sara Lawrence for sharing photos with me–and now here–from her travels to ancient sites and museums in Europe that safeguard and interpret early art. (Note: her photographs are of facsimilies on display, not of actual cave art, which is carefully protected.) I had not heard before of Musée de l’Homme in Paris, and now wish that I could see their current exhibtion called “Préhistomania.”

I hope that today you find a way to make your mark while also living lightly–and light-heartedly–on our shared Earth.

LESLIE