"Rain...through blurred glass / Gusts of a Pacific storm...a schoolgirl / Negotiates a cross walk in the wind, her hair flying. / The red satchel on her quite straight back darkening / Splotch by smoky crimson splotch as the rain pelts it... / Inside the backpack, dog-eared, full of illustrations, / A book with a title like Getting to Know Your Planet."
After reading this poem and looking it over, I was very caught up in the plant life and animal life...And then I wandered back...back to the humanity of the poem.
Wasn't this poem about a girl on the sidewalk curb, trying to cross the road?
And how she, along with "the six billion of her hungry and curious kind" affect this planet on which we live?
When I hear the title, "State of the Planet", I think of the State of the Union address the President of the United States gives once a year, letting the constituents of this country know the present status of where they live.
The poem can talk all it wants to about the planet. I cannot lie to myself. I'm far more interested in this girl.
Caught in a torrential downpour, holding to her side the concerns of this earth, she has the power to impact this planet, and (to me, anyways) this is what the poem is all about. God has ordained her to look after, care for, and see to this planet on which he has placed her. But it is to learn how to be a good steward.
Ultimately, whether author Robert Hass knows it or not, this poem is about one thing and one thing, only. Her.
As she stands on that sidewalk, eager to get home and get warm, does she even know that she is the epoch of Creation?
Lucretius can concern himself with Venus. I'm more concerned with her.
Zac, pointing this out does make a lot of sense to me. The poem does talk about how humanity affects this planet. For instance- how do the rivers, topsoil, cod, and hoddock all become diminished? Human existence. I bet getting this point off your chest felt good, because I know how strongly you felt about humanity being the center of God's creations, from Thursday's class discussion. Thanks for expressing your point about the importance of the poem's humanity, because I agree.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... some interesting thoughts, Zac. I agree... and disagree.
ReplyDeleteYes, humans are responsible for the earth's well being. It is home but it is still being destroyed by those who call it such.
But this life isn't about "her". This life is so much bigger. And the things that God does in our lives aren't necessarily about "us".
Haha, your reads are always interesting.