Yesterday I was commissioned to write a poem by Zephyr at the Climate of Our Future blog. She asked me to put pen to paper, which I hadn't done in a few years, and portray the urgency of our current environmental crisis. I was humbled to help out in such a great cause and, hack that I am, was able to craft something in pretty short order.You can see the results, along with Zephyr's very generous intro here.
I'm a firm believer in the power of art to change the world. I certainly don't expect my piece to make much of an impact, but I'd like to see all the artists I know contribute something on this theme, no matter the scale or the media, which could make a surprising difference in transforming people's thinking.
(S)Mothered Earth
by Francis ScudellariHe, his appetites always indulging
Hording each crumb, grasping, clinging
Corpulent, expanding
Never quite full
Enough
She, her beauty spread thin, her bounty laid
Bare, unable to provide for
Children ever growing
Never feeding
Enough
He, unable , unwilling to act, sits
Listless aimless, averting his eyes
Denying, refusing
Never quite sure
Enough
She, her temper flaring, her mood changing
Violent, unstable, punishing
Children ever quiv'ring
Never moth'ring
Enough
Until
Childless, she turns
Her back on, him, them, us
Receding, cold, distant, weathered
No longer owning, knowing, her late self
Until
Alone, gazing
Out a glass, frosted o'er
Mirrored, reflecting, a face now
Withered, not his own. He knows: It's too late.
2 comments:
This is indeed a very noble theme. “The power of art to change the world” as nature so graciously bestows power and natural art to the world. And the contribution of your poetic poem at the Climate of Our Future blog is an exquisite work of phraseology!
Thanks, I appreciate the kind words. I've heard whisperings that you may contribute a poem of your own to the cause. I hope that's the case. It would be a great theme for a volume of poetry, if we can find others to chip in.
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