#77 - this one's for our planet
Art by Ono Tadashige
Endangered by April Halprin Wayland
My father says
that every fall when he was a boy
the sky blackened like some huge dark tongue
sticking out over our farm
as hundreds
no thousands of wood ducks or terns
flew overhead
in one great flock
hour after hour
all day long.
I am standing in this field searching the sky
waiting for that huge dark tongue.
I haven’t seen thousands
I haven’t seen hundreds
I haven’t seen
one bird.
Other poems worth sharing on Mother Earth:
"Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go. Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection." -from Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front by Wendell Berry
"I am reminded of the righteousness I had
before the scorch of time. I miss who I was.
I miss who we all were, before we were this: half
alive to the brightening sky, half dead already.
I place my hand on the unscarred bark that is cool
and unsullied, and because I cannot apologize
to the tree, to my own self I say, I am sorry.
I am sorry I have been so reckless with your life."
-from Salvage by Ada Limón
"That fire, they said, was red as red as red
as red as a fox, your lips, a cherry;
that fire, they said spread and spread and spread,
faster than a cheetah or a nasty rumour;
that fire, they said, was hot, so hot, so hot,
hotter than lava or an African summer." -from Bush Fire by Jackie Kay "as a representative
of the insect world
i have often wondered
on what man bases his claims
to superiority
everything he knows he has had
to learn whereas we insects are born
knowing everything we need to know
a louse i
used to know
told me that
millionaires and
bums tasted
about alike
to him" -from The Wisdom of Archy by Don Marquis "Who can utter
the poignance of all that is constantly
threatened, invaded, expended
and constantly
nevertheless
persists in beauty,
tranquil as this young moon
just risen and slowly
drinking light
from the vanished sun." -from In California: Morning, Evening, Late January by Denise Levertov
André Kertész, The Dancing Faun
Links of the Week:
Letter to a Young Climate Activist on the First Day of the New Decade by Rebecca Solnit
Artists Against Climate Change
Watch: The Turning Point - Steve Cutts
The Size of Space + The Deep Sea
8 Ways To Teach Climate Change In Almost Any Classroom
‘E’ for elections. ‘E’ for environment
Post-Human Paintings by Sophia Heymans
The hard truths of climate change — by the numbers
Global Apathy Toward the Fires in Australia Is a Scary Portent for the Future
Mary Anning, the greatest fossilist the world ever knew
Museum replaces classic paintings with replications that depict the impacts of climate change
Tabletop Whale (a science illustration blog)
We’ve just had the best decade in human history. Seriously
The Talks: Susan Goldberg, journalist and editor-in-chief of National Geographic
Instagram accounts to follow:
Our Planet Week
A group of artists including Asia Orlando, Isabelle Vandeplassche and Holly Maguire are hosting the #ourplanetweek #letsdrawthechange challenge. This is an illustration movement where they invite all artists to create pieces which should call attention to care more and help our planet to get through this rough period of pollution, fires, unawareness, negligent governments, general indifference and so many more current environmental issues.
I'm exciting to be participating and doing a lot of research in the process, and will be posting my artworks on Ro Doodles from 3rd to 7th February.
Here are the prompts, in case you'd like to join:
1. Flora and Fauna
2. Unite
3. Harmony
4. Mother Nature
5. Future
Let me know if you do decide to participate, so I can look out for your work on Instagram. I'd love to compile some of the best works from Indian artists on www.thealiporepost.com.
GIF by Jason Clarke
P.S. This newsletter was originally supposed to be sent out from my room in Alipore, where my journey with this newsletter began. I didn't carry my laptop this time, and work admin + anxiety got the better of me.
I've been compiling this edition for a few weeks now. It's god awful seeing what is happening to Mother Nature all around the world, and how much further degradation and destruction we could individually prevent if we made better choices.
Let's do better, shall we?
-Rohini