I have been going to almost every protest held here in Pittsburgh, particularly the climate crisis strikes. On October 23 there was a conference about shale gas (fracking) addressed by POTUS and a protest. Many of the speakers were indigenous people from protest groups in other states. They came a long way. Unfortunately not so many people came who had only a short distance to come.

As I stood there, with all of these wonderful, articulate people, and not enough response, I lost hope. Five minutes after I returned home I wrote the words that became #89:

Who will mourn the earth
Where is the wake for the animals
What is the prayer for the birds
Who will sit shiva for the bees
And who will say Kaddish for us

The words stay in my head and I repeat them again and again, a prayer for someone who never prays.

When a close relative dies we are supposed to tear our clothing. In practice, the undertaker pins a black ribbon on our clothing and slashes it.

We sit shiva, mourning, for up to a week.

We say Kaddish, a prayer to remember who we have lost.