"Poets, as few others, must live close to the world that primitive men are in: the world in its nakedness, which is fundamental for all of us--birth, love, death; the sheer fact of being alive."~Gary Snyder, "Poetry and the Primitive"
The "celebration" of Earth Day can be an awkward and tricky thing.
While the idealistic intention is to (maybe) "honor the Earth," the necessity of a "special" day strikes me as unfortunate: that we, as a disparate, loose community of people, require the setting aside of a specific day on which to 1) demonstrate our commitment through special "events", and/or 2) honor the intrinsic connection through an outward expression of unity.
Perhaps, I'm being too cynical--any progress towards a deeper understanding of our innate connection with nature and each other can only be viewed as positive, right? For me, I'll acknowledge "Earth Day" by sharing Gary Snyder's reading of a piece of his poetry from his excellent collection Axe Handles:
It does sometimes seem apropos that Earth Day falls within The Academy of American Poets National Poetry Month celebration, especially given the connection between the poet's potential role in illuminating/preserving the individual's connection with Nature.
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