Monday, April 22nd was Earth Day. Since it started in 1970, Earth Day has always been a time to praise the earth and all her greenings. But, dear writer, I ask you what did you do on the day after Earth Day? Start there as a writing warm up. You can describe what you did on April 23rd or think about what the past week has been like for you? Do you “make Earth Day everyday” or does that phrase make you cringe?
Write for 5 minutes.
Gravity Assist (Saturnalia Press, 2019) is Martha Silano’s fifth book. Her poem, “The New Nature Poem,” first appeared in The Fourth River and I have included the full poem below. (Apologies, in advance, for the odd scanning…)
Maybe read that poem one more time? There is a lot in there!
I love that this poem was written in couplets (two line stanzas) and has such a wild mix of images, both real and sensationalized. What lines stand out to you? This poem has so many great sounds, too, and is very intentional about line breaks.
Try to write your own “New Nature Poem” using specific images from the news or fictional scenes. Prose poems are always an option, but perhaps see what couplets can do for you.
Experiment and play and write for 15 minutes.
More about Martha’s work here: https://marthasilano.net/
***If you choose to use the title “The New Nature Poem” in your work, be sure to cite this poem using after Martha Silano, or something similar, under the title or in notes. Poets can borrow, but they can’t steal.