Sunday, October 24, 2021

Our Existential Plight

 


As if a spacewoman landed
to walk the streets of New York City,
scouting a sense of what kind of species
lives here, I watch the nightly news
like a scientific observer, gathering clues
of pathology run amok,
a crazed population suffering from
a shared delusion, an intense dis-illusion.

On Friday, eight poets gathered
at the edge of Tonquin forest,
to say thank you and farewell to the trees
that will be felled this week
to make way for housing: chopping down
the lungs of the planet
while the wildfires burn -
clearly evidence of a species gone
either mad or numb,
or incomparably dumb.

Yet there was hope in the beauty
of our poems of gratitude and grief.
It is hard to know what we know,
yet impossible to turn
our hearts away.
We write words we hope will sway
others to awaken, join our fight
to save what is left, attempt to alter
our existential plight.


for The Sunday Muse


12 comments:

  1. An awesome write ... my vote goes to 'dumb' with the hope we can migrate to evolved.

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  2. There is so much craziness in the world these days but hope as well as you have beautifully written here. This is a powerful poem my friend and thank you for your sweet words over at my blog. 💜

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  3. Gratitudes for the words of poets. There are tiny seed of hope sprouting all over plabet earth

    Thanks for dropping by my blog today Sherry

    Much💜love

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  4. Sherry, I'm so very sorry to hear more trees are coming down near you. I can see where you'd want to dissociate and be like a spacewoman visiting another planet when you face what's going on in the world. This part jumps out at me:
    "a crazed population suffering from
    a shared delusion, an intense dis-illusion." with an easy word-shift from dis-illusion to disolution :(

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  5. We can only use our words ... and our prayers.

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  6. "ight poets gathered / at the edge of Tonquin forest, ' to say thank you and farewell to the trees" sad but so powerful!

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  7. I am with you Sherry, we have many "clues of pathology run amok, a crazed population suffering from a shared delusion..." I am not sure it can be fixed. Then what? A Venezuela or Haiti-like country with as loyal but terribly wrong followers Hitler had?
    Yes, we did both take off with the spaceman or woman. You did very well.
    ..

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  8. I am grief-stricken about those trees, Sherry.

    What would an outside observer see, and say about us?

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  9. Love what the poets are doing but how will poetry and poets change this madness? Everywhere people who can and must decide, don't or wont. Thank you for persevering with your poetry.

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  10. Can feel your grief, anger and despair here Sherry. But with your strong words and others like you - 'And yet, there was hope'.

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  11. It was wonderful that you could gather and give thanks to the trees. That was a very moving, heartfelt gesture.

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