A tribute to Earth Day 2020
I.
Layers of loam,
deep with history,
we dig down in order to
un-earth
secrets
II.
Alien, it seems are we. One speck of life in an infinite cosmos? Since the beginning of time—liquid water, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen—are the most valuable commodities. How amazing that each of our own bodies are an earthen vessel inhabited by millions of bacteria?! How absurd that our very existence is simply star dust sent a sputter! Are we a god’s craftsmanship or an anomaly among a big bang? Regardless. That we breathe trees and trees breathe us; that rain waters plants and then rising with the Sun; that plants drink rainbows and produce an abundance therein; that the ocean depths are as foreign a realm as Neptune; that energy is in constant motion never lost; that is a miracle.
III.
From the “adameh”, God created Adam.
We are from the Earth.
We are of the Earth.
We are the Earth.
From dust to dust returneth.
IV.
Geography: “to write the Earth”
astronomy…geology…geomorphology…ecology…zoology…entomology…archaeology…anthropology…astrology…cartography…
Topophilia: “the love of place”
V.
Grave for rot and worms
Decomposition creates
Rich humus, fertile soil,
Bed for new seeds to grow:
Plants that we sell for beauty,
Plants that we eat,
Plants that we turn into energy,
Plants that we feed to meat,
Plants that we waste
in a grave that is the Earth.
VI.
Gaia lives in all things—
All things live through Gaia.
From an elephant’s ear, the Earth hears.
In a rock at the base of a waterfall, the Earth feels.
While a wolf marks its territory, the Earth smells.
When a bee makes honey, the Earth tastes.
For every fallen egg, the Earth morns.
For every new sprout, the Earth rejoices.
All things live for one—
the Earth lives as one.
VII.
Our world is enclosed by cement walls
enlightened by electric screens that play
bird songs that sound like aliens
in far off galaxies, we search for life and
forget about living here
where we hide waste
buried like treasure hidden away at
“X” marks the spot
that we block out of our mind’s eye
right beneath our very feet
the Earth holds us up
VIII.
Earth is seasons one, two, four, or more
Earth is race, ethnicity, religion, species upon subspecies
Earth is rare, common, average, super-normative
Earth is abundant diversity
IX.
Gold beneath the surface –
Black gold and blood diamonds
Rich for the picking,
Forests of fuel and lakes of liquid assets,
Dirt-poor on desert soil,
You are what you reap from the Earth.
X.
Great Mother,
we thank thee for this food,
we thank thee for this land,
we thank thee for this rain,
we thank thee for this life,
for none of it is ours
but yours alone.
XI.
Blood-red wine spilled over parchment maps,
Royal marriages and wars and boundaries negotiated in windowless rooms,
I put a white picket fence around my yard,
My neighbor puts up barbed wire (for the cattle),
A shepherd wanders through gaps in stone walls
And kills the warrior with a stone in a sling
singing, “This land is my land. That land is your land.”
while the birds eat seed from every plant and every feeder around the world.
Still…
We move pawns across the board,
We spend all of our money on Boardwalk and Park Place,
We build dams and walls and set tariffs and trade embargo,
Because the Earth is a commodity in the global economy.
XII.
The Earth is but a wink in the cosmos of time and space—
Humanity simply a glimmer in that eye.
XIII.
Call it Earth,
Call it an ecosystem, a plant community, a landscape.
Call it History: human history, natural history, cosmic history, mythology.
Call it my Land, my Country, my Nationality, my People.
Call it my Community.
Call it my Family.
Call it my Home.
Call it my Responsibility.
Poetry isn’t my usual genre, so I would appreciate some thorough constructive criticism as I’m considering submitting this somewhere (don’t know where yet so open to suggestions)! Thanks for reading!
Photo by USGS on Unsplash : Satellite Imagery of “The Turpan Depression, (Turpan Prefecture, Xinjiang, China) nestled at the foot of China’s Bogda Mountains, is a strange mix of salt lakes and sand dunes, and is one of the few places in the world that lies below sea level.” Topographic filters on satellite imagery can produce stunning visuals and reveal before unknown associations about interactions on our planet. As a geographer, I was very drawn to using this type of image for this poem 🙂
Imaginings 