Below you will find a video of me reading ‘Slow Sleepwalk into Armageddon.’ This is the opening poem from The Anthropocene Hymnal, and it expresses my frustration at our apparent inability to see the havoc we are wreaking on our home planet. It is becoming harder and harder to sleepwalk, however, with catastrophic climate events recurring with a frightening regularity.
I am sharing this poem with dVerse Open Link Night. Tonight it’s the live edition, hosted by Sanaa. You are invited to join in and read a poem of your own. The bar opens at 3pm EST, and the link to the live event will be posted on the dVerse site. I hope to see you there! Please also check out my son Benji’s post: in which he reads his first ever published poem!
Image by sippakorn yamkasikorn from Pixabay
Fabulous poem, Ingrid!! And lovely to hear you reading it!
Thank you 🙏
A brilliant intro poem for the book Ingrid. Congratulations!
Enjoyed hearing you read.
Didnt catch all of your sons words today will read from the link
Much💜love
Thank you Gillena ❤️
What a gorgeous poem Ingrid, and what a wonderful reading. Congratulations once again. This anthology is gold.
xoxo
Thank you Gabriela: I hope you will enjoy the rest of it 🙏❤️🌎
My pleasure. I am sure I will 🤗❤️🥰🌹
Yasher Ko’ach!
😊
also, I have to add that it’s unfair – I feel like your accent makes your poetry sound more classy!
😂 I don’t think my fellow Brits would agree 😂
Very good!
Thank you Poetpas!
“Like dying flames of a once wild romance . . .”
I truly loved hearing the wistfulness in your beautiful voice, Ingrid, during your reading of this poem. A fitting beginning to this book I am more anxious than before to experience. 🙂
Thank you so much Jaya 😊
Ingrid, this is such a beautiful and tragic piece. I could hear the emotion in your voice, the prosody in reading each line. I love when you describe how upsetting this is around the world and how people are completely oblivious as to how we even got to this point. We are sleepwalking indeed. Loved how you read the title line at the end, it holds so much power and weight, it was a great closer to this poem. It just puts you in the right headspace for “The Anthropocene Hymnal.” I am excited to grab a copy, the 24th can’t come fast enough!
Thank you Lucy: I do feel quite emotional about it, especially when I think of my children, and all the children of earth. We have to fight for their future!
You read it well. There is a passivity to this sleepwalk, much like the gait of those heading for the execution chamber (“dead man walking!” the other prisoners cry) and the ponderous blinks of the frog boilling in a pot.
Yes, it certainly seems that way. Looks like we’re getting ever nearer to boiling point. Thank you Brendan.
Such a wonderful poem, Ingrid, and a wonderful reading, too. Thank you so much for this.
Will there be a print copy of the book, too?
Thank you Merril. The print copy should be available from tomorrow, if all goes according to plan! 😅
Good luck! I did preorder the Kindle version, but I prefer print. 😀
We are the serpent eating its own tail, defecating where we sleep and eat, shooting ourselves in the foot and crotch. We are the lemmings at full gallop, the bats in a frenzy of lethal murmuration. Your voice is clarion, and your point is well beyond taken.
We are all of these things. Thank you Glenn!
All of what Glenn said and more. A mesmerizing reading! Let the message wake the world! 🎺
Thank you Tricia: if only!
Congratulations on the book. Bravo you!
I often feel like yelling out, “Can’t you see what is happening?” But I don’t think that is an effective approach. Poetry can reach through walls that facts cannot. I appreciate that you are speaking out. Each of us can only do what we know how to do.
Sending you wishes for peace,
Ali
Yes, yelling doesn’t solve anything. We need to win hearts and minds. Thank you Ali ❤️
ouch, this really packs a punch! That last line sums it up perfectly, kudos.
Thank you Kate!
Mindbending work, Ingrid, and wonderfully delivered at the OLN Live. We’re on that precipice and have no idea just how close to vanishment we are.
Looking forward to my copy of the full volume. Thanks.
It certainly feels that way to me! Thanks Ron.
My favorite from the Anthropocence Hymnal, Ingrid! 💝 Congratulations on its release (in advance)
Thank you so much Sanaa for your support and contribution 💕
That was so good to hear you read your poem! I agree with David, the accent does make it more classy. 😀 Certainly better than an Aussie drawl.
Thanks Kate 😅
Prophetic, and all the more from hearing you recite it! Brava!
Thank you Frank 😊
Love hearing you in person Ingrid! It makes it come alive! Congrats on the book!
Hank
Thank you Hank: I have a lot more recordings coming up, from me and some of the other contributors!
Wow Ingrid that was a powerful poem so descriptive of this hell.
Love hearing your words in poetry and you are looking mighty striking and beautiful I must say…💖💖💖 Beautiful both you and your poem.. 💖
Thank you Cindy 💕💕💕
pleasure Ingrid!💖
ingrid, you should record more of your poems, you read so well! really enjoyed, so well done!
I appreciate your vote of confidence, thank you!
Nicely done… love the video… great poem Ingrid!
Thank you Dwight!
You are welcome!
Ingrid, I am so delighted to see you share your words. As I mentioned on your IG page, this is a brilliant and well-crafted poem. I am excited to get my copy! 👏🏼
Thank you Michele…not long now!
Wonderfully read Ingrid. Sleepwalking is so perfect as a description. (K)
Impactful poem and perfectly chosen photo, Ingrid! The burning earth truly is a “living hell.” I enjoyed immensely hearing your reading of the poem. <3 Have a great weekend!
Thank you kindly Cheryl ❤️
Ingrid, wow! This is so powerful, and beautifully written. One of my favorites of yours — wow! 👍✌🏼
I am pleased you enjoyed it – if that’s the right word!
What a lovely poem! You have such a beautiful voice, Ingrid. ❤️
Thank you Punam: I’m not too in love with it but it’s the only one I’ve got! 🙂
Don’t listen to yourself, leave it to us! My pleasure. 😊
😊