Poetry of the Earth

This Earth Day has me thinking about the amazing details and oddities of the world around us. When NPR reminded me that April is National Poetry month, I immediately thought of a poem by one of my favorite poets, Gerard Manley Hopkins, on that very subject.

Pied Beauty

GLORY be to God for dappled things—

For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;

For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;

Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;

Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough;

And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.

All things counter, original, spare, strange;

Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)

With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;

He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:

Praise him.

by Gerard Manley Hopkins

While I don’t see many trout, rose-moled or otherwise, where I live, I do appreciate the wildflowers popping up all over, the new bird calls that have been added in the last month as species head north, and the rain falling outside my window. Thinking about the details makes me want to protect them all. What particulars speak to your heart? How do you want to protect them this year?

I hope you and your family find many wonderful things to celebrate in the world surrounding you. Happy Earth Day!

A Day to Remember the Earth

This is my entry to the Affluent Persons Living Sustainably or APLS Carnival. April’s topic is whether Earth Day is still relevant. The selected entries will be hosted by Ruchi at Arduous Blog on April 22 so be sure to take a break from your Earth Day activities to read what everyone has to say. You can learn more about this and future carnivals at APLS.

I believe that while the significance of Earth Day has changed since its founding, there is still a need to designate a day to celebrate and honor the earth and to educate ourselves for the best ways to do so.

In my view, the current version of Earth Day is a cross between an anniversary and the keynote speech at a multi-day conference. I love my husband every day but our anniversary provides us a special opportunity to review our relationship, be proud of the accomplishments we have made, and re-dedicate ourselves to our future. Among the crush of everyday life, we need a reminder to think about how we care for the earth. Read more

Celebrate Every Day

I love the stories of words. The fact that the etymology of the word holiday comes from the Old English halig dæg or holy day makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. (I just pegged myself as a word geek, didn’t I?) I believe holidays should be sacred times, occasions for people to come together and celebrate.

But sometimes the craziness around a holiday can overshadow its intended message. The examples that come most quickly to my mind are Valentine’s Day, Earth Day, and Veterans Day. The cacophony that surrounds Valentine’s Day is enough to drown out the message, “Tell the special people in your life that you love and appreciate them,” while Earth Day often involves a flurry of advertising for so-called green products rather than acknowledgement of the unique and wonderful nature of our planet. Veterans Day includes parades and brass bands while the idea that those who have given their all for our country should be honored stands shyly on the sidelines. Read more