13 Comments
Aug 15Liked by Rebecca Wisent

Wow, this is so heartbreaking, i don't know how to respond but i have to write Something. It brought me to tears and, like you, i wonder about my place in this tapestry. Calling European Colonisation the most destructive force on the planet is profoundly accurate :(

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I'm not sure how I missed your response initially, but I just wanted to say thank you for your words. We are together in wondering about our place in this tapestry; all I can think to do is weave some life and beauty into it where I can. I go back to Maxine Hong Kingston's words: "In a time of destruction, create something." 💚

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Rebecca, this is a remarkable, poetic and thought-provoking piece of writing. For the reader/listener to imagine themselves as the owl, the salmon, the forest, makes the destruction and loss even more poignant and heartbreaking. You have infused so much detail, knowledge and personal insight into the words that I felt I needed to read it more than once, and I’m sure I’ll continue to revisit it. Thank you for sharing it with us subscribers who weren’t part of the first 12 disciples.

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Aug 16Liked by Rebecca Wisent

Thank you Rebecca! This is powerfully imagined and beautifully written. It’s also heart-rending when you present it with all the supporting evidence. Well done!

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Thank you, Robin. I so enjoy your written redwood tours. :)

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Aug 16Liked by Rebecca Wisent

I read it before but it still makes a deep impact, one of your best pieces!

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Michael, thank you so much for going on that journey again, and for your kind words. It's so very lovely to have you here.

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You put us in that world of wonders, the only way we can ever visit it, as we have no scent of home to follow back to it. I can hardly bear to read about animals returning to a place that is no longer there, it hurts my heart. Humans should know so much better now than we did then, yet the forces of colonialism and destruction march on every day in wild lands. I grieve with you. xo

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Me too, Carmine. I live in a place that still clearcuts its forests and I am regularly stunned by the confusion and fear that emanates from denuded lands. Sometimes it transforms into anger. Sometimes grief. Love to you.

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You've elegantly brought to this Easterner the poignancy of loss in the far West, now no longer so distant and abstract. Thanks, Rebecca. 😢

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So tragic. As I child I would lie in bed and cry over the hard lives of wild animals. That child is still in me. Your “imagine”s is my inner dialogue. Beautiful, wrenching piece.

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Aug 18Liked by Rebecca Wisent

I had no idea wild mammals exist in a minuscule percentage on earth. Scary. Thank you for this eye opening, heartbreaking writing.

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Rebecca, I'd love to send you a message. For some odd reason, Substack won't let me. Can you please email me at wildfire1491 at yahoo. I'd love for you to come speak to my online writing course about Substack. Please be in touch.

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