Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Poets United Midweek Motif ~ Sustainability






“Why worry about minor little details like clean air, clean water, safe ports and the safety net when Jesus is going to give the world an "Extreme Makeover: Planet Edition" right after he finishes 
putting Satan in his place once and for all?” 
― Arianna Huffington




“Can we actually suppose that we are wasting, polluting, and making ugly this beautiful land for the sake of patriotism and the love of God?"

Photograph
source




Midweek Motif ~ Sustainability

Definition: The world’s population of 7 billion is likely to increase to 9 billion by 2050. The demand for diminishing natural resources is growing. Income gaps are widening. Sustainability calls for a decent standard of living for everyone today without compromising the needs of future generations.

Your Challenge: The idea of sustainability didn't come home to me until something I took for granted was threatened. How did the idea/reality enter your life? What are you doing (or what do you want to be done) about it?

(Homage Kenneth Koch)

If I were doing my Laundry I’d wash my dirty Iran
I’d throw in my United States, and pour on the Ivory Soap, scrub up Africa, put all the birds and elephants back in the jungle,
I’d wash the Amazon river and clean the oily Carib & Gulf of Mexico,   
Rub that smog off the North Pole, wipe up all the pipelines in Alaska,   
Rub a dub dub for Rocky Flats and Los Alamos, Flush that sparkly Cesium out of Love Canal
Rinse down the Acid Rain over the Parthenon & Sphinx, Drain Sludge out of the Mediterranean basin & make it azure again,
Put some blueing back into the sky over the Rhine, bleach the little Clouds so snow return white as snow,
Cleanse the Hudson Thames & Neckar, Drain the Suds out of Lake Erie   
Then I’d throw big Asia in one giant Load & wash out the blood & Agent Orange,
Dump the whole mess of Russia and China in the wringer, squeeze out the tattletail Gray of U.S. Central American police state,
& put the planet in the drier & let it sit 20 minutes or an Aeon till it came out clean.
(Boulder, April 26, 1980)

For those who are new to Poets United: 
  • Post your sustainability poem on your site, and then link it here.
  • Share only original and new work written for this challenge. 
  • If you use a picture include its link.  
  • Please leave a comment here and visit and comment on our poems.

(Next week Sumana's Midweek Motif will be Time.)

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44 comments:

  1. Always good to read Ginsberg - things really have to hit home before they seem real...the biggest question is always how can things be changed...thank you for the prompt as ever!

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    1. I know! I was tempted to attempt Ginsberg before discovering my heart wanted me to write from my roots (haha). Things can change with mor and more positive spirit. Thank you again for a marvelous journey.

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  2. Wooo hoooo its Midweek motif folks :D hope you all like my poem! :D

    Lots of love,
    Sanaa

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  3. Good Morning, Poets United. Here it's a rainy grey chilly day for late spring, and wouldn't you know? it's a day for Mr. Linky to misbehave. I think I've fixed it, but check back to be sure we don't have to repost. I'm looking forward to a wide-range of responses to the idea of sustainability. Much food for thought.

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  4. Thanks for this great prompt Susan :)

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    1. Thank you for playing, Sumana, for your wisdom. I'm looking forward to writing to your Midweek Motif of time next Wednesday!

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  5. Thank you for another wonderful Midweek Motif, Susan! A topic dear to my heart...

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    1. You are very welcome, Nicholas. Thank you for joining us!

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  6. Happy Mid-Week, my fine feathered friends. I feel like I have taken root at my desk, my body has forgotten other positions, LOL. A topic dear to my heart this week. I wrote a couple of horribly depressing ones, before I thankfully found a bit of local good news this morning. Whew! Always happy for a glimmer of hope. Last night our Canadian environmental hero, David Suzuki, was actually speaking here in our little town. I was too tired to go. Argh. But am glad he came.

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    1. Happy Mid-week Sherry :D

      What an incredible poem it was.. thoroughly enjoyed reading it :D Wow David Suzuki.. :D it must have been awesome! :D

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    2. A bright moment or two can sure lighten your mood. I'm glad you had time to visit!

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  7. Thanks for the prompt, Susan.
    Though my poem is less related to environment and more to the adversities that we commonly face.
    Anyways, I really enjoyed writing on sustainability.
    And looking forward to write on Sumana's next week promt: Time :)

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  8. Sustain got me thinking of music today....

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  9. Hi Susan, I came today with haiku only and not yet at my blog, plan to include later in the post. For now the link is here: http://seehaikuhere.blogspot.com/2015/06/google-sketch-yosemite-usa.html ~ Thanks for the theme!

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    1. Please, don't feel obligated to leave the comment there... Thank you.

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    2. Whoops! I saw the post before saw this note. We'll get it all together later and I will visit again.

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    3. Sorry about it...I hope Kuni_San enjoy visitors.... :)

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    4. The comment bounced back to my email. DO you want it on your blog? Repost when you're home and I'll eliminate the bad one.
      Here it is: Is this you, Hum, putting your haiku in as a comment? I thought to read it again next to the pictures, but they don't come up when you hit "show original post." I'm guessing you meant for the post to be taken as a whole--the Yosemite site in photo, painting, and words sustainable. I wonder if "You are here" is sustainable, if we are not mountains?

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    5. I so appreciated all of you coming to the blog of the image! Susan, this my haiku will be one of the group of haiku for later post. I still not sure if I should have posted it today as I done already...just confused you. ~ Many layers, closer to me: whenever we're at our path, the land, mountains, nature support us, they are sustainable, only if we pay back the same....

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  10. This was a challenge for me, hope you like it.

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    1. Yes, of course--you are a fine writer. But I found the two colors together hard to read. And then, of course, perhaps we can help you find more hope!

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  11. I appreciate your prompt and the timeliness of it. I am sad that people for so long take beauty and clean water for granted (as they throw their trash and light their fires.)
    This was my third or forth attempt for the challenge - I didn't like my voice in the others.
    Happy Wednesday to you all!

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    1. You have a powerful voice. I'm sure you have to hold it back at times, but about sustainability? I say let it rip as the wind to fill our sails!

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  12. Mine's in. This is an inexaustible topic, I can't wait to read the others. Thank you for always coming up with such rich prompts.

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    1. You answer richness with richness--or maybe what makes a prompt rich is meeting a simple motif with so much experience!

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  13. Susan,

    I wrote from the point of view of self. If one is to help others, then self needs to be energetic, if possible...Excellent prompt with scope...
    Eileen

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    1. You nailed it, Eileen. Perhaps we can regain energy from poetry? From youth?

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  14. Replies
    1. PS Bedtime here; will have to come back in my tomorrow to comment on others.

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    2. You could make that statement two independent sentences, couldn't you? ANd what of circles and wicca? has every possibility been played out?

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    3. Thank you Susan: good insight! As for possibilities — I think we must always keep doing whatever we can and not give up, even when things appear impossible.

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  15. My poem which reflect my views are currently controversial. Nevertheless I feel a strong ethical need to express them in spite of the current thinking at the moment.I do not like living in a world where the statistics of pornography viewed by children has become so alarming that there is a now recognised need for some form of intervention and re education on human relationships amongst other aspects which I have mentioned in my work. The environment is only one aspect of our society where sustainability is threatened.

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    1. Amen to that. Thank you for bringing your poem, Rall.

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  16. That's all folks! Please continue to visit each other, but bring your new poems to the Pantry tomorrow as I won't be checking back!

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  17. I love the Homework poem by Ginsberg. Too good!
    Loved writing for this relevant topic :)

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