– William Blake, from The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, 1793.
“How do you know but ev’ry Bird that cuts the airy way,
Is an immense world of delight, clos’d by your senses five?”
We have forgotten we are part of nature
an integral part
we think that we can bend the very seasons to our will
we think that this is Art.
We think that we can drain the carbon sinks
sprinkle fairy dust into the clouds
magic the air clean:
we have an overinflated idea of our own importance.
Now, witness our impotence:
we are unable to control the pandemic
we are unable to put out the forest fires
we are unable to stop the seas from rising.
We’ve made our bed, and now we have to lie in it.
How will you lie in yours?
Will you feather it with further greed?
How does your garden grow, in love, or has it gone to seed?
We are powerless over people, places and things.
We think we are all-powerful, but this is an illusion
the only way to make a difference is to look within
perhaps that light could start a revolution
of the spirit. It’s a far-out hope, but
it’s more realistic than throwing money at the problem
money doesn’t talk, it swears
and I swear it will drown us.
How do we enter that immense world of delight?
Tune down those senses five
there is an inner sense we have learned to
ignore almost completely.
It’s no excuse for complacency.
But I can’t bring about peace on earth
if I don’t have peace in me.
I park, pause, take heed –
Breathe. Unafraid
direct, unshirking
seeking truth
the only way forward that I can see.
© Experimentsinfiction 2021, All Rights Reserved
Written for Earthweal
If this feels a bit airy-fairy, forgive me. Perhaps it’s more of a thought-dump than a poem. For this week’s challenge, Brendan has asked us to consider some pretty tough questions:
What is the turning point that gets us out of this labyrinth of fated humanity? Who or what must we embrace? How do we find our way into the Totality? What are our responsibilities as the only critter in that mix with the power to shape according to our will? How to merge with the squiggly collective when we can’t come close to herding the collective will of Humanity?
I’m not sure any one of us has the answer to all of this, but I do know we become detached from our humanity at our peril. This is surely the reason for the downgrading and underfunding of Humanities subjects in modern, neoliberally-funded educational establishments…
A thought dump poem? Airy fairy? It does sort of lose focus a bit towards the end but I thought that the first five stanzas were really powerful..
…just my humble opinion Ingrid.
Thanks Hobbo. These are difficult questions and I don’t claim to have the answers: I don’t think any of us do. But we certainly need to start looking!
The thing that made me finally firm in my view was the psycology of it. In other words, many people think we can just make a bit more money today, and worry about the climate tomorrow.
And, I ask myself, for these people, when will “tomorrow” ever become “today”. My answer – it’ll never happen.
What’s wrong with airy fairy sometimes? Those are some pretty strong opinions in those verses. On another note – how does one find good prompts to follow regularly?
I recommend Earthweal and dVerse poets pub. These are not simply prompts but real challenges both to our thinking and our poetic skills!
A great place to find a title, Ingrid. William Blake saw it in his visions and now we have to deal with it. Your opening stanza sums it all up so well. We have forgotten we are part of nature and we do think that we can magic the air clean. Overinflated importance indeed. And only now we’re recognising just how impotent we are as a species.
Thank you Kim. I’m feeling pretty worried about it all but I know at the same time that fear and panic won’t get me anywhere.
I feel your frustration!! Hear hear!!
Thank you 🙏
We have questions Ingrid… I think we have similar thoughts and opinions … and I know we are not alone … maybe there is an underground swelling of a concerned population … and that keeps giving us hope… love Bod Dylan’s song, and I love William Blakes writings….. .. did I ever tell you that my name appears in the author list below William Blake, in a poetry collection/anthology, called Melpomene, edited by Gwendolyn Taunton… also in the same book there is, Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Charles Baudelaire,and Paul Verlaine… (whoops skiting..)
Fantastic Ivor: you’re in good company 😊
Haha… a case of, ‘I happen to be in the right place at the right time’
I think you are right–we can’t buy our way out of this problem. Just the opposite, in fact–we have to look for the things money can’t buy. (K)
“Will you feather it with further greed”, what a great line. Love how you ended it with the need of self to be at peace.
A wonderful poem with so much to think about. What we cant control we will experience increasingly, the way we are headed. I enjoyed reading your thoughts, Ingrid.
I hate how we look at these questions from the viewpoint of how it will affect ME. Or more largely US. We have already taken humanity out of the natural picture, and to a greater or lesser extent we’ve taken the individual out of the human picture. It’s all about me. What’s good for me. I don’t see any way to stop it.
Very good Ingrid – as ’tis said that happiness is the best revenge against a lousy childhood, so too rapture may be the only way out of the dismal human labyrinth. It’s like grace, freely given and sustained only by giving it back. Really messes up the capitalist works too, free joy freely given. Great ideas for the challenge, and loved the Blake quote. – Brendan
Thank you Brendan. It’s the best I can do right now!
“We think that we can drain the carbon sinks
sprinkle fairy dust into the clouds
magic the air clean:
we have an overinflated idea of our own importance.”
Magic the air clean indeed. Lots to think about here, Ingrid, The rhyming gives the poem a protest song feel, so the Dylan link is apt! The problem is, to some extent, that there is no one solution to the climate crisis and all the various solutions come with a “yes, but”…..however, the solutions are there but so far the collective will isn’t.. but “seeking truth” is always a good thing…JIM
Yes, how do we galvanise the collective will? It seems easy enough to do in other ways…
airy fairy? hell not, this is a great poem.
love this-
“We think that we can drain the carbon sinks
sprinkle fairy dust into the clouds
magic the air clean:
we have an overinflated idea of our own importance.” oh and the ending as well… but really good all the way around!
Thank you so much for your kind words!
Great stuff. I enjoyed every word of it and didn’t find it airy fairy at all.
Thank you Suzanne, that means a lot to me!
o that quote! And perfect song to round out the feast in between that ca[ptures the entire picture! My favorite part: “How will you lie in yours?
Will you feather it with further greed?
How does your garden grow, in love, or has it gone to seed?”
Thank you 🙏