Earth
May 2019
#125
Celebrating The 200 Year Earthday Of Walt Whitman
The twilight of time facing the Delaware River
Today I honor the sun, the moon, and the stars
In harmony to Pachamama
I see and hear and feel and touch Mother Earth in the climate crisis
We must respect our soul where consciousness must shine
And enjoy nature, trees, branches, as squirrels are playing in a circle
Water is overflowing besides the body and the soul
For a moment of silence, I see and hear in the air of poison
Of the war drum machines dancing in rhythms
And at the other side of our life, I hear the chants, the mighty chants
Peace must flow in our name
Of our human cry to guard our democracy
An end of xenophobia, hunger and homelessness and hopelessness
Remember reading Leaves of Grass many moons ago
While crossing the Brooklyn Ferry
From the island and the borough of Manhattan
And we will chant poetry throughout the age
Above the stars just before daybreak
A poet friend to another poet
Our verses shall spread love to our sisters and brothers
For those who are sleeping
Lift them with the glory of the light
For all humans are born free
And if you see someone in need, stretch your hand with a smile
And kindness
Yes, a society that lives in darkness hastens to misery
And preaches falsehood, will sooner or later will sail like the wind
And at that moment of time, The Sun Ra Arkestra plays a note
Of Century 21 Tomorrow’s World
Rhythm space sounds as in every Tuesday, I will pick up the Brooklyn Daily Eagle
At Livingston and Court
Yes, we have crossed over the Delaware River
To the City of Camden and to Huntington of his birth
To honor Walt Whitman
Let us gather and celebrate on his 200th year eathday
The poet of the light
© Carlos Raúl Dufflar May 31, 2019
The Bread is Rising Poetry Collective
The Call – Walt Whitman
La verdad es que su poesía, aunque al principio causa asombro, deja en el alma, atormentada por el empequeñecimiento universal, una sensación deleitosa de convalescencia.
– José Martí, “El poeta Walt Whitman”
To that composite American identity of the future Spanish character will supply some of the most needed parts.
– Walt Whitman, “The Good Gray Poet’s View of Our Population and Our Future”
A brazen truth can wreck a thousand lies
Walt Whitman has a message for us today
When poets speak, listen or feel the earth tremble
A call to speak in verse
Emerges on ferries and subways
The masses walk on pavements, some with dignity
We must raise lowered heads high
Poets mark borders between what is true and what is false
We turn the page to destiny
This is a free poem
Free to be truly
Scribing voices into verses
As we in free verses of freedom
Hear the call of Beat Poet Richard Davidson*
US class-conscious Beat poet, known for his poem for Paul Robeson
© 31 May 2019 Ángel L. Martínez
The Bread is Rising Poetry Collective
Grass
I feel the silkiness of its
fleeting touch upon my
bare exposed feet.
My linen skirt swishing
around my ankles
just teasingly
brushing its surface.
A straw hat is perched
upon my auburn hair
a living connection
to the earth.
I place my chequered rug
(as it invited me to do)
upon its textured skin
creating a perfect square
of intimate darkness.
Folding myself into its
sweet scented fragrance
I allow it to become
part of me, a channel
for my thoughts.
Taking out my pen
and trusty notebook
I begin to write……
Grass
I feel the silkiness ……
Jan Hedger
WOW
Enforced Drought
The flowers were in despair
For the rains had failed again
The animals were in despair
No water to drink anywhere;
And the people are desperate.
The flowers are not blooming
The animals are not surviving
The crops are non-existent
And the children are dying.
The world was despairing
Helpless, yet helping; such
Awful news; everywhere.
The earth was in despair
Trying to catch the tears,
Of mothers crying
For without the rain
Tears was all it had
To nourish the flowers.
Jan Hedger
WOW
Life, Soul, Planet
Earth is the planet of our life
Be it for human being or animal
We have space up above
The ocean down below
And what wonders we will find
Will never cease
Earth looks round from space above
From what I see from TV documentaries
I watch
It is so fascinating-
As I take in and learn
The beauty of our planet
We call Earth -
Why, oh why, do people
Revolutionise their thoughts
Cause havoc wherever they go?
It is so hard to watch,
The fighting and killing of human beings,
Animals that surround the beauty
And space, within the planet Earth
There are many planets, within
The space, the sky
Earth is the known planet
That we know has living beings
But what is to become of it
In the years ahead?
Will it Explode? With life no more
Or will it survive?
Many of us like exploring the truth
We go back in history to find our heritage
And this we sometimes see
in documentaries on TV
Some so interesting, you wonder,
Knowing you are here from whence
They were -
The era’s of different fashion
The exchange of hearts and souls
The romance of true love
The triumph of past wars
The intelligence taught through
Time and space
The galaxy is ours to explore
For ever more
But where will this planet Earth be?
Now the way it can be researched
From space above
We love it for this is where we live
But do we?
For many a human being still
Take it for granted
as time helps them grow
I began seeing you at school
When geography became part of my soul
A project that would search through life
and times
My distant legacy
Love and Peace,
I hope that truth will appear,
Don’t you?
(C) Josie Lawson 4/05/2019 All Rights Reserved
GROW
Earth
Earth is sometimes written with a capital E
so it says this is the planet where we like to be
on the other hand there's a different story
which takes away a lot of the glory
'cause a small e means the stuff beneath our feet
or when in a field we'd like to take seat
where we'd prefer a nice carpet of grass
to sit down in comfort upon our ass
instead of getting our stuff stuck
in among the usual sweaty muck
between our toes
and other places nobody knows
after laying down
an' rollin' aroun'
sit back, take a rest
pull on your vest
on a cool clear night
that's just when we might
lay back in the dark
under sky in the park
and find out why
folk stare at the sky
look wide eyed at it all
and that e on the earth – it's cap-it-al
Dave Chambers
Newham Writers Workshop
Dear Earth
Dear earth in middle lane street
In addition rises case series sense
Sensitivity to stress grief losses
In the tall trees greenery caterpillar
Wonder how many moons light
In shades of earth hardships score
Lies validation power rise hammer
Drill drilling mind blackening souls
Soil sounds breezes sweetness charm
Bracelets necklaces charming little time
John Joseph Sheehy