[Photo credit was lost because Google behaved badly.[
Let's all hate
glyphosate.
Tear it down.
In its place
love Queen Anne's Lace,
tall and proud and in your face.
Love milkweed
where butterflies feed.
Love pretty fluff
of dandelion puff.
Love a sharawaggi look;
let tall flowers form a shady nook
carpeted by violets and sheltered from the weather:
Can you get five colors of violets together?
Oh, so mean--
atrazine.
Tear it down.
Where it was
let the laws
of nature mandate kittens' paws
or ponies' feet
or lambs' faint bleat.
Love the children
and the beasts.
Love a fruit or flowering tree.
Bend your back and bend your knee
till every trace of Astroturf or of devil grass
is covered up by something native that was meant to last.
What a blot--
paraquat.
Tear it down.
Cry "begone!"
to the lawn
and the corporate greedheads' pawn.
Plant green peas,
strawberries.
Plant potatoes
or tomatoes.
Let green push away the pavement,
gardens push away enslavement
to the foolishness of zoning that, a hundred years ago,
said that from our homes to work needed twenty miles to go.
PK, do you remember the song, "Yellow Taxi", or "Put up a parking lot?" While reading I was reminded of that song. I loved reading your write even more with it's message also. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI love Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi," often sing it, and feel flattered that this poem reminded you of it! (However, the refrain "Tear it down" reflects what most influenced the rhythm and rhyme scheme...the commercial rap for "Flair, Flair, the Super Pen (Won't Mush Down)." I'm a child of my age :-) )
DeleteThat was great and we're always all in on being kind and gentle.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what good or bad poetry is. Although I'm no expert on art either.
ReplyDeleteIt's a running joke at this web site, because at a now-defunct web site we used to observe Bad Poetry Day...There's bad poetry, which is hard to define although an anthology of it's been published, and there's Bad Poetry (TM), which is written by me.
DeleteOh, what a pretty garden in your photo! And what wisdom in your lilting words!
ReplyDeleteI love your language of flowers and the wider commentary on the world - Jae
ReplyDeleteBravo I second that! Tear down the herbicides and I your love for nature beautifully shines through
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem.
ReplyDeleteI got curious about these herbicides and found these statuses:
ReplyDelete1. Glyphosate
Status: Heavily Restricted and Phasing Towards a Full Ban.
2. Atrazine
Status: Banned.
3. Paraquat
Status: Completely Banned.
The regulations on these three herbicides are part of a broader, aggressive policy known as the "Zero Growth Action Plan for Pesticide Use" (and its subsequent versions). The key goals of this policy are:
Reducing Overall Chemical Use: To curb pollution and ensure food safety.
Banning High-Risk Pesticides: Phasing out highly toxic, persistent, and hazardous chemicals.
Promoting Alternatives: Encouraging the use of biological pesticides, green pest control, and precision agriculture.
As a result, China has been banning and restricting numerous pesticides at a faster pace than many other countries, reflecting a top-down approach to managing environmental and public health risks.
Good point. A *good* ban needs to come from the people and only be officialized by the government...but the Chinese approach does have its attractions.
DeleteI wonder whether China tolerates other chemical sprays?
loved the poem and I felt it has a high tempo. But I will be honest - the comments of the fellow bloggers helped me have a better understanding of the poem message.
ReplyDeleteThat's good to know. It's started to feel as if everyone who uses a computer has high Glyphosate Awareness by now (and I'm glad), but that may be partly the echo chamber effect. Welcome to the movement. It is global. Links to documents about pesticides are scattered around this site's archives and are more neatly organized at the MomsAcrossAmerica site.
DeleteThank you, fellow poets and cat people.
ReplyDelete