April 22nd poems
Today is Earth Day! Yay!
I think most people can agree that this planet is a good thing. However, wars are fought over how we should use it and/or live on it. So, today’s “2 for Tuesday” prompts will play off the opposing sides of the environmental coin.
Prompt 1: Write a nature poem. This can about how much you love or hate nature. It can be optimistic or not so. You can write about global warming or about that time when a deer walked up so close you could almost pet it. I’ll leave the specifics up to you, but it should be about nature.
Prompt 2: Write an industrial poem. This can be a poem about the benefits of transportation or the joys of urban living. It can cover technology, the comfort of cruising around in your car, etc. Of course, as with the nature poem, you can be optimistic or not so. I’ll leave that up to y’all.
CASTLE IN THE SKY
On a rural highway, driving
By myself
I glanced out the car window
Toward where the sun should be
This late afternoon, and saw
Something so spectacular
I had to pul off the road
And stopped to enjoy it.
I got out of the car and
Stared at the sky
Where a massive lone cumulus cloud
Stood vertically
With the sun at its back.
A solar rim of gold encircling
Its dark towers and battlements,
Brilliant rays radiating from the hidden sun,
A glorious sight.
Camelot.
INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH
I exited the warehouse, my business done.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:49 amIn the middle of a large city, I,
A creature of the country and suburbs,
Took a moment to stand on a sidewalk
And just look.
The vista of buildings, large and small,
Of streets and lamp posts and traffic signals,
Of brick and concrete, and steel, and stone,
In all manner of forms
Exerted a hold on my senses.
This is wonderful - truly wonderful, I thought.
An awesome tribute to the freedom
Of the human mind to visualize, to create,
And then to bring something unique into being.
The architects and men on the high iron.
The straw bosses and day laborers.
Americans. Free to build,
Free to fulfill dreams,
Free to create a city.
It’s wonderful.