Caring for the earth and its climate is a simple matter of caring for one’s natural home, caring for oneself, and caring for others we love. It’s easy to forget this when we face the seeming complexities of earth care and varying philosophical perspectives.
But, really—to care, or not to care….that is not the question. After all, as humans most of us care quite deeply about our surroundings, ourselves, and our loved ones.
This 30-days, 30-poems challenge (read 30, write 30!) assumes we care—or want to—and it helps us find a poetic way in, as well as understand our hopes and struggles in a world where sometimes we’ve wondered: does anyone care? They do. And they can.
Includes a Bonus Essay: “It’s Not About What We Can’t Do—It’s About Love.”
Table of Contents
A Way In
Day 1 • Begin
Poem: Find
Prompt: Begin
Day 2 • A Dawn
Poem: After Reading About the Iceberg Waterfalls
Prompt: A ____ Dawn of Time
Day 3 • Just When
Poem: The Earth’s Economy
Prompt: Just When I Thought the Day
Day 4 • Age
Poem: Back
Prompt: Age a Tree
Day 5 • Prayer or Ode
Poem: Prayer for the Pompadour Looking Up From My Plate
Prompt: Prayer or Ode for Food
Day 6 • No Rain
Poem: Aubade
Prompt: No Rain & Road
Day 7 • Distances
Poem: North on the Illahee Ferry
Prompt: Distances & Magnitude
Day 8 • Pretend
Poem: Today by the Creek I Pretend I’m the Dalai Lama
Prompt: I Pretend
Day 9 • Price
Poem: The Poetry of Money 2
Prompt: Beauty’s Price
Day 10 • Look
Poem: Drought on the Open Road
Prompt: Look Up
Day 11 • Love
Poem: Awaiting Arrival
Prompt: Food as Love
Day 12 • Influences
Poem: Father’s Day
Prompt: Influences
Day 13 • Question
Poem: Petit à Petit L’Oiseau Fait Son Nid
Prompt: Working Out a Question
Day 14 • Technology
Poem: Eve’s Second Garden
Prompt: Guardian Technology
Day 15 • Sun
Poem: Untitled. “Papa is the sky…”
Prompt: You Are My Sun
Day 16 • Deep-downness
Poem: Untitled. “Do the shells…”
Prompt: The Deep-downness
Day 17 • Reclamation
Poem: Resort
Prompt: Reclamation
Day 18 • Morning
Poem: Li Po
Prompt: Every Morning
Day 19 • Making
Poem: Hawksbill Crag
Prompt: Making Buttonholes
Day 20 • Surprise
Poem: Immolation
Prompt: Technology’s Surprise Side
Day 21 • Loveliness
Poem: Night
Prompt: Looking for Loveliness
Day 22 • Never
Poem: Untitled. “At the end of the Sound…”
Prompt: Never Want to Stop
Day 23 • Signs
Poem: Trouble in Paradise
Prompt: Signs Of
Day 24 • Favors
Poem: from Romeo & Juliet: “Come night…”
Prompt: Asking Favors
Day 25 • Convinced
Poem: Turning
Prompt: Convinced or Not
Day 26 • Peace
Poem: The Lake Isle of Innisfree
Prompt: Peace There
Day 27 • Season
Poem: Under Heaven
Prompt: Season
Day 28 • Care
Poem: Contingency Plans
Prompt: Whose Care
Day 29 • Running
Poem: As the Deer
Prompt: Running With
Day 30 • Making
Poem: Neruda’s Memoirs
Prompt: The Making of a Poet & A Poet’s Makings
After the Challenge
Earth to Poetry: Answering
Top 80 Game Changers Shared in Drawdown
About EcoChallenge
Celebrate Poetic Earth Month
Bonus Essay:
It’s Not About What You Can’t Do—It’s About Love