This poem was written after a visit to Peru. I am sharing my appreciation of the land, the food and the people that live there. Our trip took us from Cusco to Machu Picchu and on to Lake Titicaca and down to the coast.
Poem to Pachamama
After journeying many hours from far off Australia to this land in the Americas of high mountain ranges and its ancient peoples, I give gratitude.
I give gratitude for this opportunity,
For the wisdom found,
For the sun that gives us warmth,
For the wind that blows,
For the earth that gives us all we need each day,
For the rain that brings us water to quench our thirst,
For the gentle breezes that cool us on those hot days,
For the food that nourishes us each day.
I give thanks to my capacity to undertake this spiritual journey,
For the lessons learnt and experiences undertaken,
For the beauty that can be seen in the mountains, valleys, and plains,
For the safe journey that each of us undertake to witness and experience this land.
For all the new learnings that I have found,
For all the new foods that I have tasted.
For the many new friends that I have made.
To experience high mountains where the air is so thin one needs to learn to breathe again,
To see the deep valleys, oh so deep, with water rushing down the gorges clear,
The long wide plains where grasses grow tall, or no grass at all,
This land of Lama and Alpaca, and where the mighty condor fly.
I give thanks to Pachamama for this opportunity to meet with and be with these gentle people.
To Pachatata for this safe journey,
To return again someday to the Alto Plano in Cusco and Ollantayatambo and learn more of this land and its people.
Luigi Giuseppe Vittorio
13 Sept 2011 Peru