The sea returns
Earth Day Special - issue #86 of your inbox poetry magazine
In each storm
the sea gives us back what
we so carelessly discard, until
one day some of us start
to worry.
In each storm
the sea gives us back what
we so carelessly discard, until
one day we learn how much
we've hurt her.
In each storm
the sea gives us back what
we so carelessly discard, until
one day some make less waste,
others more.
In each storm
the sea gives us back what
we so carelessly discard, until
one day she sees nothing
really changed.
In each storm
the sea gives us back what
we so carelessly discard, until
one day she has no choice
and floods us.
Today is Earth Day. And if it’s up to me, any day is a good day to celebrate our beautiful planet. It saddens me deeply to see it so polluted as it is. Not just because it’s simply painful to see our home treated like that, but also because of something I deeply believe in. Some people believe we inherit the earth from our ancestors, and because it’s ours now, we can abuse it as much as we want. I don’t believe that. I believe that we borrow our planet from our children, and we need to take very good care of their home. When you think of it like that, it becomes much easier to treat the planet with the love and respect she deserves. Especially when you have children. Just look at your kids, and you know.
So, I pick up trash, like the shoe and glove in the picture above. I try to live greener. Buy less crap. Eat less meat. Can I do better? Absolutely. I try. Will you join me?
You can listen to today’s poem here:
Read on for Something to listen to and Poetry elsewhere.
This week’s poem is a chain of five tritriplicata shaped stanzas.
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Something to listen to
The notion that we borrow the earth from our children is not mine. It’s probably as old as humanity. And in some places, it is at the core of local beliefs and culture. Like in Palau. The children there made a wonderful pledge for tourists visiting their paradise, but that pledge is actually very fitting for all of us. Listen (and watch) here:
Speaking of kids and Earth Day, I’ve written a poem for Earth Day and children. Listen here:
I really like the dreaminess of Sunil Bhandari’s readings. Here’s the audio version of his poem Lose a Lover Not a Friend:
The most recent chapter of our podcast, Chapter 13: Michael, is here
And of course, you can dream away or get energized to save the world by listening to our monthly collection of songs, The #trpplffct April playlist is here:
Poetry elsewhere
The beach is a place of unlimited inspiration for me. And even to people who don’t like beaches, it can be. Like for Suzanne Kiera Anthony and this poem SAND FANTASIES.
Look around you, what do you see? I’m sure you can write poetry about it. Like in this poem Scenes from a Restaurant in the Time Between Variants. Great title, too.
Procrastination won’t help us solve any climate crisis we face. The time to act is now. Still, putting things off until tomorrow seems to be such a strong trait in humans. Scott Muska captures that very well in I Thought This Was Worth Sharing.
As a bonus: you may remember my poem The Other Side of the River. I created an NFT from that one, which is now for sale:
