My Grandma the Poet: Revisited (Guest Poem by Lura Newland: Your Rainbow)

 

Tim Kavi with his grandmother, Lura Newland @ 1978

Today would be my grandma's 121st birthday. I've written about her before in several posts on different birthdates. Here's one link. When I was very very young, grandma used to write her poems and she would encourage me to do so along with her. She was a profound influence on me in many ways. I come from a line of poets, going back generations; my great grandfather (grandma's dad), my grandmother, my mother, and then me, and now, my daughter! My publisher has accepted a collection of poems that will be published of my grandma's work. This collection will be called Heartland: Poems from the Heart by Lura Newland. (The following poem is about the gardens that she planted with my grandfather every year, and how tending to their beautiful garden caused a beautiful rainbow!  A perfect poem as we start to contemplate spring. :-)).~~TK

Your Rainbow (poem)
by Lura M. Newland

A posie here and a daisy there

Lillies and roses and 'mums everywhere.

Who planted them there but he and you,

That's what made the beauty as the garden grew.

Beauty in God's hand with love he gave,

Brought out in the flowers you worked to save.

Flowers of all sizes, colors so rare,

They looked so beautiful planted there.

They need not be spaced so far apart,

Each little root was a hunk of your heart.

A wee little hunk that grew so big,

When you really did get down to dig.

The soil is so rich with joy and love,

When watered with teardrops from above.

Teardrops, like diamonds, from Heaven did fall,

To make the rainbow from the colors all.

There's a rainbow in your garden plot,

A painter's Glory and God's Beauty Spot.

God needed help to make it that way,

So the posies took over by blooming each day

You had to put in your two-bits worth,

By planting and digging and coaxing Mother Earth.

You wielded the rake and used the hoe,

To make perfect, each tiny little row.

The row could be long, deep, or a little short,

Then scattered with seeds of all sorts.

Then a few days of sunshine, then rain,

The Beauty paid off for all the pain.

The pain from stooping on bended knees,

No one else would have flowers like these.

Now let us sit back and count up the score,

See what we have we didn't have before.

We see posies, joy, beauty and love,

Sunshine and teardrops from Heaven above.

That's what made that garden so beautiful one day,

When it turned the posies into God's Bouquet.

God's Bouquet to have and to hold,

The Rainbow of colors and the pot of gold.

Teardrops helped posies to fill your garden, you know,

With love, woven into God's Bouquet and Your Rainbow.

More About Goddesses: Pachamama, Incan Goddess (New Essay)

More About Goddesses: Pachamama, Incan Goddess

by Tim Kavi 

Pachamama is the Incan goddess of the Earth and the goddess of fertility, specifically harvesting and planting.  Her name means “mother of space and time” in English.  As a deity independent from others, she is able to, on her own, sustain life on the planet for animals and plants alike.  She also presides over the Andes Mountains and has the power to cause earthquakes.  

Most artist conceptions show Pachamama as a goddess capable of ensuring a prosperous harvest for potatoes and coca leaves.  In Inca mythology, there are four cosmological Quechua principles, namely Earth, Moon, Sun, and Water, and all trace their primordial origin to Pachamama.  

A Goddess of Agriculture

One of Pachamama’s main manifestations is as the Incan goddess of agriculture.  Incans had performed daily rituals in tribute of her, with women in particular going to the fields to pray to her, occasionally sacrificing an offering of cornmeal.  The Incans compared the mountain peaks of the Andes to her breasts, the rivers to her milk, and the fields to her womb.

Beware the Wrath of Pachamama

While considered to be a good and benevolent goddess, it is believed that Pachamama can also get angry in a significant way.  If she feels that people are not honoring her like they should, she reminds them in the form of earthquakes.  She is also said to be close to the Incan gods of thunder and lightning, and can wreak havoc accordingly when she is not worshipped or thanked.  

Pachamama in Modern Times

Even in today’s modern, post-Christianity society, Pachamama is still worshipped in certain parts of the Andes, whose people see her as a “good mother” and offer a toast to her prior to meetings or special events.  Her worship day, Martes de Challa (Challa’s Tuesday), involves people sacrificing food and incense and throwing candies.  There are even some worship celebrations where yatiris, or traditional priests, follow the ancient rites and go as far as sacrificing animals such as llama fetuses and guinea pigs.  This celebration takes place at the same time as Carnevale and Mardi Gras in other parts of the world.

In August, worship to Pachamama reaches fever pitch, as this is the coldest winter month in the southern Andes.  As a result, people are more susceptible to illness and believe that this is a time when evil spirits play tricks on them.  To ward these spirits off, Andean people burn plants and wood, and drink the South American beverage mate for additional good luck.  The first of August is when Andeans cook all night long, and offer a plate of food to Pachamama before anyone is allowed to eat.  Leftover food is also cast to the ground, prefacing a prayer to Pachamama.

One interesting way in which today’s people pay tribute to Pachamama is the Sunday parade.  Since 1949, Andean women, especially seniors, take part in this festival, where the oldest woman in a community is named the Pachamama Queen of the Year.  This is because elderly women are thought to epitomize tradition and wisdom, as well as reproduction and fertility.

About the photo: The image 'Pachamama' is drawn by Adam Ketelsen.