Maggie

Hello, my name is Maggie. I have a great appreciation for the natural beauty of North Carolina, especially that of the Blue Ridge Mountains because “they’ve been through quite a lot”. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to the PAPA project for creating a space of expression and beauty, as well as my sincere apologies to the Earth for, well, everything.

Maggie Severtson tends to be more of a reader than a writer, but she will occasionally indulge in the filling of a page, or two, or three. She hopes to continue writing poetry and other prose throughout her life.

Maggie’s Poem

My mother, despite having moved around enough as a child that it was rare for her to see the flowers she planted, is a brilliant and insistent gardener. With a recent family relocation to a land-and-soil-rich property, we have finally begun our labyrinth-like exploration into self-sufficiency: a proper garden (and chickens!). I have come, through time spent there with her, to truly appreciate the value of muddy shoes.

 

A seed could probably grow

In the boot-tracked mud

In our kitchen.

We stand together and scrape soil

From under our fingernails,

Relishing the smell of the earth,

The heavy scent of the dark dirt

Where we spent the last hours of sunlight.

It was warm, still,

And I could feel in my fingertips

The way that roots were going to push

And gain and grow

And I think I stood a little taller

With my toes in the ground;

Knowing that our table would be set

With spring.

We stand here, on cold tile,

So unlike the open earth before,

Still feeling the sunlight on our faces and

Wishing for another sunny day

To spend up to our elbows

In the sandy loam

That we call home.

Why I support this organization… The Sierra Club, a grassroots organization that works to protect ecological communities, encourage smart energy solutions, and create an enduring legacy for America’s wildernesses, was founded by naturalist John Muir in 1892. Its current initiatives include developing alternatives to fossil fuels, limiting greenhouse emissions, and protecting wildlife communities; it’s also involved in issues like environmental justice, clean air and water, global population growth, toxic waste, and responsible trade.