NaPoMo poem #22
This is twenty second of the poems I will write this April, in honor of National Poetry Month, as proclaimed by the Academy of American Poets.
This poem is an homage to Gaia, our mother earth, in celebration of Earth Day 2009. Embedded within this free verse poem are a trio of haiku, each focused at our earth.
• NOTE: these poems will all essentially be early drafts, so edits may occur after their initial posting.
Earth Day 2009
For Granted
•
each night
consciously
or unconsciously
confident of gravity
that it will keep you
anchored
in your bed
snug in your bed
that you won’t wake
to find yourself
having floated off
now entangled
in the sweeping branches
of the willow
in the backyard
that wonderful weeping willow
always bending
and swaying
like some sinewy
sap-laden
great elephant
trundling
great elephant
trundling
and swaying
on the lookout
for water
in the arid
african bush
such majestic
mysterious
beautifully dangerous bush
in africa
the amazing dark continent
with zebras
and giraffes
and lions
and of course
elephants
in africa
in the earth’s
southern hemisphere
and all of this
kept firmly aground
by earth’s gravity
pretty astounding
when you consider
earth hurtles through space
eighty times the speed of sound
racing toward hope
our frail earth needs hope
desperately it needs help
it is in trouble
our earth’s crying out
it’s balance has been disturbed
we humans don’t hear
all we ever think about
is bed
money and bed
and gravity
and then
often only in passing
when we’re not
simply
taking it for granted
the earth
and all these incredible things
for granted
• • •
rob kistner © 2009
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• you can find other NaPoMo offerings at read write poem