“I write poetry, Toby, that’s how I enter the world.” Tabitha Fortis, U.S. Poet Laureate in The West Wing, Season Two
The above line is one of my favorite lines and the clip is one of my favorite scenes dealing with poetry. This weekend I was thinking about sustainability and the search for a sustainable life. It seems to me that we need poetry to help us transition to a sustainable and just world. At the very least, I need poetry to create a more sustainable life for myself. More thoughts on poetry and sustainability soon, I hope. Right now they are still percolating 
Below is a poem by Pat Mora that I enjoy. I hope you enjoy it as well.
The Bribe
By Pat Mora
I hear Indian women,
chanting, chanting,
I see them long ago bribing
the desert with turquoise threads
in the silent morning coolness,
kneeling, digging, burying
their offering in the Land
chanting, chanting
Guide my hands, Mother,
to weave singing birds
flower rocking in the wind, to trap
them on my cloth with a web of tiny threads
Secretly, I scratch a hole in the desert
by my home. I bury a ballpoint pen
and lined yellowing paper. Like the Indians
I ask the land to smile on me, to croon
softly, to help me catch her music with words
Related articles:
The Poetry Corner: Dreamwood by Adrienne Rich
The Poetry Corner: Appalachia
The Poetry Corner – Creatures of the Intertidal Zone
The Poetry Corner – what wildness is this
Sunrise
Morning Poem
The Journey
I agree completely. Poetry is one of the only things that makes me feel connected to the grand scheme. When I read an old poem, and feel stirred to passion by it, I can’t help but feel connected to something larger, knowing that men of the past have gone through the same struggles and trials that I now face. Great insight, and I like the poem as well!
Looking forward to reading your thoughts on poetry and sustainability, Morgan!
Susan, thanks for stopping in. It may be a while before those thoughts are cooked.
Right now they keep circling around like birds in the sky afraid to land.
It takes a really straightforward poem to rope me in. My writing lends itself more to prose, but I so appreciate the form of poetry. I rarely attempt to write a poem and often am disappointed with the results. It makes it a great thing to read the writing of someone who does it well. A good poem can stick with us for a long time. I remember Lord Byron’s “Darkness” was a favorite of mine as a teenager. HeHe… I thought I was cool.
eastkentuckygal, thanks for swinging by! I understand what you are saying about a straightforward poem. Sometimes I think our poetry here in the U.S. took a bit of an elitist turn in comparison to some other countries and cultures where poetry is part of the everyday world.
Oh, I totally agree. In the post-modern era, it seems like if something is accessible to the masses, then it must not be poetry or art. I had a friend who wrote purposeful nonsensical poems only for the linguistic sounds the words made together. I admire the attempt, but couldn’t take the poetry. Same with art. I’m not a fan of abstract art. I like things to be representational. I might gaze at a Jackson Pollock for awhile as I think his abstractions were more intentional than anyone would admit, but that’s about as far as I go with abstraction. My husband gets flack all the time because he paints people in “real life” situations – no holds barred, but he doesn’t work from models. He does it out of his head. People either love it or leave it.