In early Celtic poetry, there was no gap between human beings and the rest of the natural world. With the coming of Roman Christianity and Western philosophy it was thought that humans were separate because of their soul or reason. A famous Celtic poem identifies the poet with nature: “I am salmon in pool”.

The following is thus inspired by the early Celtic poets:

I am the salmon which leaps in the pool.

I am the stream which rushes down the rock.

I am the sea which crashes on the cliff.

I am the rowan which grows in the mountainside.

I am the buzzard which soars in the wind.

I am the cod which swims in the ocean.

I am the deer which stalks in the undergrowth.

I am the cloud which scuds across the sky.

I am the polar bear which sleeps in the snow.

I am the daisy which lives in the field.

I am a human who has been all these things.