Substratum

A poem written by Jillian Sullivan, a celebrated poet living in the Ida Valley.

A photo of Jillian Sullivan taken by Ross MacKay of Wānaka for the magazine: 1964 Mountain Culture.

Substratum

We are so vulnerable here.
Our time on earth a time of
how to keep warm and how to be
fed and how to quell our most
anxious thoughts which come back
and back to connection.
 
How do we stay here on this earth
which is right below our feet?
Soil, clay, substrates of rock,
magma, lava, water, oil, gold;
the things we want to bring up and use,
the things we want to use up.
 
If all we ever wanted was to know
we would be warm and fed and listened to,
would we be kinder?
Would we in turn listen? Would we understand
the importance of those close to us
and the importance of what is under us?
 
We have the far sight. And we are what
the shamans warned against.

About the poet

Much celebrated in Central Otago and far beyond, Jillian Sullivan lives in the Ida Valley and has published her poetry, fiction and non-fiction widely. Among her recent books are Map for the Heart; Ida Valley essays (Otago University Press, 2020), and an account of building a strawbale house at Oturehua, A Way Home (Potton & Burton, 2016). Acknowledgements are due to Poetry4Peace (Printable Reality) and Ko Aotearoa Tatou (Otago University Press), where these two poems first appeared.