The Blanket of Humanity

 My Destiny

Pitter patter, drag my feet

I cannot compete with the speed of others, for that is not my destiny

I move forward, I move back, I stand still

And as I stand still, the quill that covers my body, begins to itch, begins to twitch

But I know better than to interfere with it 

For it is there for a purpose, it is there for a plan

And for those of you who do not understand, imagine if they were a part of you

Do You Understand

Let’s review, I walk through the forest, I climb up the trees

And I attempt to smell the breeze, check out my surroundings

For danger is near and for many of you it would appear, I have not noticed, I do not have a plan

I want you to understand, that is my plan, do you understand

For as many Ground and Tree Species will confess, we are at our best when we present a causal carefree look about

Our snouts are useful, for they tell us much

They touch the air; they interpret what is there

We also carry our weight, we also interpret another’s gait

Although our snout does much of the interpretation, our eyesight although limited, gains insight to the sight before us

We Grace Each Tree

As we climb, as we scratch, we grow attached to certain trees

We move carefully, we move in a state of decision

Each paw is placed where it needs to be placed

And as we grace each tree with our presence; some will hope we will leave 

Some we achieve, what needs to be achieved, at the base

We trace our claws across the trunk, close to the base

For those of you humans who are attempting to trace our activity, that is a look for 

Some of us choose to not grace you with that evidence, but rather climb mid-stream

And there, we sit relaxed and chew

Some of you see the telltale signs, even before your eyes begin to climb, to look for the clues, to look for the presence

For in essence, once we have girdled the top of the tree, you see the tree realizes its new reality

It must attempt to survive

And as it attempts to survive, it chooses to allow each needle to take a dive

Soft Wood

We the Porcupines of the Land want you to understand, our choice is a soft wood

We tend to prefer the Pines

But if they’re not intended to be in our habitat, we must admit, we go elsewhere

Imbedded

We carry a shell of defense

And when that defense is in the face of danger, it becomes imbedded

Some who are less eager, look for a vantage point

We are here to suggest to each and everyone of you in the Animal Kingdom and otherwise, we all have our weaknesses, surprise, surprise

We can hide them, for only so long

We sing our song; we do what we do

We are Different

Many of you see us, as an unnecessary beast

But we want to assure you we have a voice; we want to assure you we have a choice

Yes, we are different, yes, we do not fit in the box

But who are you to suggest we don’t fit

Protection

For we have evolved this way

Each Animal Species has a form of protection

Some are into speed, some are into flight 

Some are into bulk; some are into the mighty

Some are tiny and look insignificant

We the Porcupines of the Land want you the understand, all species have a role to play

Missing

If there comes a day when we are missing, you may not notice it at first, but there is an emptiness there

This is an emptiness that will not be filled

No electronic device can do that

We each have our songs, we each have our ways of communication

We each have our families, generation upon generation

Our populations ebb and flow

This you Humans ought to know

For your populations go in the same direction

Speed

But we the Porcupines of the Land want you to understand, speed is not always the way to go

For if you slow down, if you use all your senses

You will begin to realize, you become more in touch

For when you move quickly, when you fly by, you miss ever so much 

You are not in touch with your surroundings, you see what you think you see, you are not in touch with your surroundings, you smell what you think you smell, you are not in touch with your surroundings, you hear what you think you hear, you are not in touch with your surroundings, you touch what you think you touch, you are not in touch with your surroundings, you know what you think you know

As experiences go, they are truly misguided

You Focus on the Stone

For its like you taking a Stone and skipping it across the Water’s edge

You see the Water, you see the flat top

But you are not brought beneath the surface, you are not brought above the Stone 

For you focus on the Stone alone

Once the Stone has settled below the surface, you are alone

Until of course you pick up another and try once again

Pry your eyes from the size of the Stone, the flatness

From the ripples it makes, when it bounces from one space to another 

Try to discover the world beyond the Stone 

For the Stone is but one part of it, the Water as well

Review What You See

We the Porcupines of the Land want you to understand, yes, we carry a shell, yes, it is covered with sharp points

But that does not anoint who we are

For if you had a chance to get to know us, what would we expose to you

We carry wisdoms just like you, we carry a story just like you

Allow yourself to review what you see, allow yourself to review an alternate reality from what you see

Look deeper, beyond the surface

Souls Blend

For what you see on the surface is only part of the reality, for each individual is a Soul

All our Souls blend

The Soul carries no covering

It is the essence of who you are

As you wander through a crowd, as you wander through a room, do you assume to know the person beside you, do you assume to know the person far ahead, do you assume to know the crowd, or are you instead hoping to discover what each of their Souls will uncover

Only a Covering

For the skin they are in, is only a covering

See it for what it is, a protection of sorts

It’s like the clothing your wear

Some of you prefer a particular design, some of you prefer an accent colour 

Some of you go for polka dots, others go for stripes

Some of you go for plain Jane

You want to remain invisible; you want to remain in the background

Some of you prefer to stand out be loud

Some of you prefer to have the crowd notice you

Some of your outfits are shocking to others

Some of your outfits exude joy

Some of your outfits employ a stamp of who you are 

We all carry a covering 

Sometimes the covering tells a bit about us

Sometimes the covering is not that at all

Deep Inside

We the Porcupines of the Land want you to understand, go beyond the covering, see what’s deep inside 

For many of us hide what we have to offer

For we feel insignificant, we feel not good enough

Where did that come from, who gave you that impression

Here For a Purpose

We the Porcupines of the Land want you to understand, you are all here for a purpose, you may not know that right away

Stay around, you need to find out

For you are one Spout of Knowledge

And each Spout of Knowledge, needs to be poured into the Collective

The Offering

For the Collective gains in strength from your Offering

And that’s what it is, an Offering of the many

So, allow yourself to give

We the Porcupines of the Land want you to understand, your giving, your Offering, is needed

Each gift is woven together

It is woven together in the Blanket of Humanity

Understand you will all have a place, understand that blanket needs your thread