If a line or phrase resonates with you,
we invite you to use it as a starting point to create your own poem.
We welcome you to share your poem with the IPM community here.
This poem was included in IPM's November 2023 Newsletter.
Access the full Newsletter here.
This poem was written by Geoff Oelsner, a poet, songwriter, storyteller, and IPM board member.
Geoff Oelsner grew up in Kansas City, Missouri where he began writing stories, songs and poetry at age 14. While pursuing an English major at Oberlin College, he spent a year as an exchange student in Scotland and discovered the Findhorn Community where he had life changing experiences of attunement, or communion with nature, while working in the garden. He’s been a dedicated organic gardener since.
After earning a Masters degree in Social Work from the University of Georgia, he and his wife Leslie Berman Oelsner moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas in 1979. He practiced psychotherapy, music therapy, clinical hypnotherapy and massage therapy there for over 30 years before his retirement. He led a free weekly Buddhist Meditation and Spiritual Support group for 25 years, prior to the pandemic.
Geoff has released 2 CD’s of original songs: Morning Branches and Ordinary Mystery which include Leslie and both their adult children. To hear all of his recorded songs and see his poetry you can visit his website: www.geoffoelsner.com
His love for the earth coupled with a rich mix of experiences of attunement to nature, have led to him to author books which share pioneering, regenerative approaches to our climate crisis and affirm our largely unexplored capacities to connect with and directly benefit our natural environments. The most recent of these is a self-published ebook titled Attunements for the Earth: Poetic, Musical, Photographic, Anecdotal, Climatic, Intuitional, Scientific, Spiritual (2022).
This free book also includes Leslie’s nature photography, lyrics and mp3's of Geoff's songs and a scientific study conceived by Geoff and his close collaborator the neuroscientist and parapsychologist Julia Mossbridge PhD, on the role of intuition in understanding and addressing climate change. The book was initially inspired by and includes 10 “Attunements” letters written to participants in IPM’s annual Poetry of Nature poetry writing group. Geoff has been a faculty member,Board member and served as Treasurer of IPM for 11 years.
Comments