Friday, March 3, 2023

Friday Writings #66: In the Face of Disaster

 


Hello again, dear Wordsmiths.

Time to get serious!

My brother lives in Auckland, New Zealand, where lately there have been bad floods and nearby a devastating cyclone. He suffered only a wrecked front fence himself, but plenty of other people fared much worse. He is angry now because he thinks world leaders are not making enough connection between such disasters and climate change, not doing enough to address that.


Where I live, recent nights of heavy rain felt scary no matter how I rationalised, because of the two severe floods we had a year ago, and the one before that in 2017 – and I was far from the only person to feel that way. 


But what can we do in the face of these disasters – we, the people not in positions of political power, not enjoying the huge wealth which also bestows power, all too aware of the problem and also aware that it’s going to take more to fix than we can do as individuals?


Is there something we can do collectively? Could the individual efforts even add up to enough after all? Is time running out or is it on our side? Can writing do anything at all to help?


Well, at the very least, writing can relieve our feelings. And maybe writing to our politicians might sway them in the right direction, or writing for the public might wake up some more people or inspire them to further action.


Be that as it may, what would you write in the face of disaster? What will you write? It’s your prompt for this week, if you choose to use it. 


Otherwise feel free to write about anything else at all … after all, it may be that everything we write now is ‘in the face of disaster’ anyway, as we experience these dramatic climate events all over the world.  And then there are wars, and viruses....


Or are you experiencing some even more personal disaster? I hope not! But if so, letting off steam might help.


Not meaning to be a doom-and-gloom merchant, folks. Perhaps what one can write in the face of disaster is something cheerful and/or hopeful, to make us all feel less despairing. Perhaps we can write about some of the good things that are being done to help in dire world situations.


One post per person, please; verse or prose, new or old; 369 words maximum. Please read and comment on other people’s posts – and if you’d care to talk to us in the comments here below, that would be lovely.


Next week, Magaly will invite us to create poetry or prose inspired by a line from our own Marja: “Write love letters to wild flowers”.





This image, by Colin Lloyd from Unsplash, reminds me of the state of some of our local roads after our floods – several still not repaired a year later, because there was just so much devastation to address.




25 comments:

  1. Ah your brother lives in Auckland Yes the cyclone has been really horrible there. An unbelievable disaster. Happy your brother is ok and yes it doesn't seem to impress the leaders as there is not much progress on fighting climate change

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    1. Hi Marja, Having trouble leaving a comment on your latest lovely poem... What I wanted to say to say his I really loved the idea of 'pooches of light' 'smothering the silence' - super writing. With Best Wishes Scott

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  2. Greetings Rosemary and All, Yes such challenging times all around now, it seems. Important then that we remain aware of how truly blessed we still are - which is pretty much the focus of my latest piece. I hope it touches you and look forward to reading everyone offerings shortly...

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  3. Not sure why this comment has come up as Anonymous - which was certainly not my intention! With Best Wishes to all from me, Scott Hastie...

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    1. Blogger seems to be doing that to some of us lately, Scott, no idea why. Thanks for coming back and identifying yourself.

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    2. And it did it to me too! - Rosemary

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  4. Hi there Jae, Again struggling to post a comment - Doh! What a typically fresh and joyous piece, even when tackling such a problematic topic - it brought a big smile to my face... Thankyou... With Best Wishes Scott

    A rather frustrating morning, Google wants me to change my browser configs to be able to manage these sites of yours where comments are managed exclusively by Google - which I am reluctant to do... If anyone has any ideas out there, I'd be grateful... With Best Wishes to all... Scott

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  5. Thank you Scott - jae

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  6. Seriousness does not require an apology. The wolf is already at the door. The planet IS facing disaster and, therefore, all life as well. While there are people working on solutions who get little attention most feel helpless or are in denial and keep voting for people who have no solutions and/or long to spew even more carbon emissions. There are big and small things each of us can do but what we should not do is give up hope and do nothing.

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    1. Thank you, Penelope, for these words, all of them wise.

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  7. Here we go again... Hi there Rall - same issue with your page... So just wanted to say what beautiful and generous writing. Such an open and evocative delight to share in childhood memories... Thanks for sharing these sparkles... With Best Wishes Scott

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    1. Scott, I am letting people know, on their pages, when you have left them comments here.

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  8. Here's mine:
    https://purplepeninportland.com/2023/03/04/who-pulls-the-strings/

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    1. You're linked, Sara. I have been otherwise occupied; perhaps Magaly or Rommy (who knew that) fixed it for you this time.

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  9. Thank you. i embrace that we are not good stewards of this earth but my poetry just needs to be mostly upbeat... i can't go down that rabbit hole.

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  10. Not sure my comments ever get through to Colleen. I do read and comment there.

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  11. Not sure Marja got my comment, but I tried.

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  12. I am glad your brother is all right, Rosemary.

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  13. Good day, Poets & Storytellers!
    We are experiencing much rain over here at the moment. No flooding, just wet wet weather. The storm drains are working their worth.
    I will come back to read later. It's past midnight here, and the sky is threatening to rain again.

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