Today’s writing prompt is based on the poem Contingency Plans
Earth care can be fraught with competing philosophies and concerns: we are responsible for nothing (let the cosmos or the Divine take care of it) versus we are responsible for everything (it’s up to us to “keep the bins kempt and orderly”).
The truth of the matter probably lands somewhere in between. After all, we are part of nature and, like any other species, we are both acted upon by our environment and we act upon it. Similarly, if we are religious, there is some divine being or force that we both ask things of and who/which asks things of us.
A complicating factor in all of this is that we can begin to feel “godly” or “better-than” others, regardless of which philosophy we adhere to more closely. This can easily have the effect of turning others away, rather than bringing them along. It can also cloud our vision as to how to move forward in the most compassionate and effective ways.
Write two short poems about some aspect of earth care—the first part where you are responsible for nothing and the second part where you are responsible for everything.
Now, cut your poems apart into lines or phrases and put all the parts in one pile. From these cutouts, make a new poem.
(See cut it out poems for an example of how to assemble a poem from disparate lines.)
Want the whole 30 poems, 30 prompts series in one convenient place?
You can get that in Earth to Poetry: A 30-Days, 30-Poems Earth, Self and Other Care Challenge.
