One title reads, “Glacial outburst destroys strategic bridge connecting Pakistan with China.” Another, “Bridge crumbles after heatwave triggers floods.” The footage is devastating. The Hassanabad Bridge in the Hunza Valley was destroyed on Saturday. Water levels in the Shishper glacier lake increased by 40% as a result of an unusual early-season spike in temperatures, Reuters reported. The Shishper Glacier in northern Pakistan is melting at a rapid rate and causing historic flooding.
While there has been news coverage of this event across several platforms and luckily there were no fatalities, I am surprised it is not front page news. I am surprised we are not all talking about it (and freaking out). How quickly we (including myself here) jump to the next thing, idea, news story!
Ecopoetics can be of service here, not only in digesting the ecological grief this type of event triggers but also in amplifying the news to more people and explaining its significance. How can creativity remind us all that these climate-related disasters are happening in real-time around the world?
So I ask you to be the bridge. Write a poem or essay from its point of view. Do you see the water coming, what does it feel like, how are the people around you reacting? Did you have any idea this was going to happen to you?
Share your work.