Muna's Lessons from the Veranda
- Muna Obiefule
- May 28
- 2 min read
June 2026
Listen
Listen
To the birds.
They say
There’s nowhere else to be.
Listen
To the trees.
They find
Stillness without ease.
Listen
To the bees.
They hum
With life-force energy
Listen
To the flowers.
They are
Perfection without performance.
Listen
To the green.
It sustains
The beating heart of our world.
About The Poem
“Listen” came to me while sitting on the veranda of the Adisa Ancestry Artists Residency in Jamaica. This poem offered a pathway for navigating feelings of inadequacy, comparison, and expectations of perfection. I was doing what I love, watching my prayers manifest in my reality, but I still felt like an imposter. Most mornings during those two months began with sitting on the veranda, writing, and listening to the soundscape of Jamaica’s flora and fauna. These moments of solitude soaked into my bones and softened them so that I could find rest — even just for a moment — and listen to the guidance that the natural world had to offer. I hope these words inspire you to listen to the green and accept its guidance along your journey.
Bless,
Muna
About the Poet
Munachiso Obiefule is a Nigerian-born writer, environmentalist, and yoga teacher now based in Los Angeles, California. She is a 2025 graduate from the University of Southern California with a bachelor’s in environmental studies and a minor in occupational science. She recently completed a residency at the Adisa Ancestry Artists Residency in Jamaica where she was developing two projects. First is a collection of poetry and prose chronicling the experience of a young woman on her journey of spiritual healing and self discovery. Secondly, she is gathering the stories of farmers and other community members connected to nature and to land for a documentary film spanning African diasporic connection to land. Her work aims to bring about environmental joy, healing, and an understanding that the human experience is inextricable from the natural world.
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