I had the opportunity, thanks to the Author, to experience a collection of eco-poems first-hand, and this book just left me so sad, no wonder the Poet did a wonderful job in making me feel this way but…
Isn’t it a bit thought-provoking that we have come to the point where, as Poets fueled by Nature, in seeking joy and upliftment in her being, are now writing poetry mourning her?
“We Were Not Born to be Erased” is a poignant collection of eco-poems by Indian Poet Pulkita Anand, staying true to the wrenchingly evocative title, the Poet exposes the wound, raw and fresh, and presents the sad reality as it is, she states the obvious, and her poetry hits -
Our Earth is bleeding, her Nature is shrinking and the repercussions are reverberating, if only we stopped distracting ourselves, running from problems, glued to instant gratification, till we find ourselves in the eye of the storm and it’s too late...
This eco-poetry book is one of the many (yet not enough) “wake-up” calls headed our way, and the Poet does a good job of drawing us in via her verses. Personally, the pieces like “Crying”, “The Bronchitic Sky”, “I saw your eyes in Two Fig Trees” and “Reeking” to name a few, are some that moved me, hitting the nail in the coffin, while others like the “City Dog”, “Pile”, and “How do you do?” mirror the reality that we live in, one that is far from pretty.
And then there are pieces like “The Fire of Kherji lit Chipko”, “Do you Remember… What if…?” and “Swinging”, to name a few, does a brilliant job of threading deeper and pinpointing the intersection of culture, location, and nature, and the implications of climate change in all three, in the Indian context.
Finally, I found solace albeit with a heavy heart in the beauty of poems like the “Aves”, the “Rivers Recital”, and “You are What”, and others like “Let's return to our roots”, “We have traveled long” and “Faith” lingered like a resounding echo, making me anxious in the quest of what Can I do to CHANGE things?...
Mother Nature is the reason why we exist, and we are killing our life source – how has the human race come to this? Intelligence that courses through our “being”, knows the truth of this interconnectedness, how important nature is to us, but the way this human race behaves as an independent entity as if Nature is a mere aesthetic, is not intelligence but foolishness, foolishness born out of limitedness, as we have built structures based on fear and insecurities, somewhere down the line we have conditioned our demise by losing sight of the truth – that Nature is our Creator and as Nature declines its presence, we plan our own destruction.
Therefore poetry inspired by the intention of awareness, a reminder, a wake-up call, like this Book does, inspires us to pause, rethink, and refocus, “bringing the focus back to nature” because we are Nature too.
If you are a Poet, Writer, or a Creator of any genre, inspired by the natural world to create and express, join our community at “Poetry Earthlings” to become part of a collective voice that “brings the focus and conversation back to Nature” in our appreciation, love, and awareness.
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