Fiftieth Earth Day
During Pandemic and Climate Crisis,
Can we find a way . . .
To celebrate Fifty?
Fiftieth Earth Day?
It is this coming month,
April twenty-two;
Earth: our only home,
Will appreciate what you do!
© Forrest W. Heaton
28 March 2020
Creativity! Teamwork! Leadership! Coming from all points of the globe, from countless different cultures, from different customs, languages, music, histories and stories, we have come together as Americans, particularly at times of extreme stress/threat, to overcome the threat, learn from it, and then to reach out again to help others—to lead the world in what needs to be done for humanity and our fragile spaceship planet earth.
Many examples come to mind: helping rebuild Europe and Japan after the Second World War, developing life-saving procedures and medicines now in use worldwide. With disparate skills, extraordinary creativity and outstanding leadership we succeeded.
Since social distancing prevents celebration in groups, perhaps you might consider a few hours outside—walking, thinking, sitting, reading, praying, planting, repairing, writing, perhaps reading a poem. Should you possibly choose the latter, you might consider Wendell Berry’s “Look It Over.”
Look It Over
I leave behind even
my walking stick. My knife
is in my pocket, but that
I have forgot. I bring
no car, no cell phone,
no computer, no camera,
no CD player, no fax, no
TV, not even a book. I go
into the woods. I sit on
a log provided at no cost.
It is the earth I’ve come to,
the earth itself, sadly
abused by the stupidity
only humans are capable of
but, as ever, itself. Free.
A bargain! Get it while it lasts.
Wendell Berry
From New Collected Poems.
Counterpoint Press © 2012