Climate Change Poem 9

African iris, April 2007

Two global events are occurring on September 24, 2011:

1. Moving Planet, a worldwide rally to demand solutions to the climate crisis.


2. 100 Thousand Poets for Change, a demonstration/celebration of poetry to promote serious social, environmental, and political change.


I thought: Why not do both?

Barring an emergency, I am posting from midnight to midnight, one poem per hour (at any time during that hour). That's starting from 00:00-01:00 and ending at 23:00-24:00 Eastern Time today.

All the poems are sonnets. Each takes its cue from an article dealing with climate change. The articles had been posted beginning on September 15 -- the date of the 24-hour Climate Reality Project that inspired me to do this -- to September 19, the day I drafted the twenty-fourth poem.


The poem for Hour 9 takes its cue from "Funding Cities' Efforts to Beat Back the Tide of Climate Change" (David Weinberger, New Deal 2.0, Sept. 16, 2011).

Change Agents

As life on Earth evolved, its adaptation
Helped decide which creatures carried on.
Now cities take that tack, as does each nation
Partnered in a global marathon

To craft a framework focused on sustaining
Ports of trade and coastal urban centers.
To keep ahead of water levels gaining
Calls for dialogue. Investment. Mentors.

Preparing on this scale can overwhelm
Municipalities of every kind.
The UNCSD* will try to helm
A way to fund a meeting of the minds.

Adaptability in all things Geo:
That will be the hope next year in Rio.

* UN Conference on Sustainable Development, to be held next June in Rio de Janeiro.

Audio (1:10):

Part of the Solution website (chosen at random)
Green Energy News.
Elissa Malcohn's Deviations and Other JourneysPromote Your Page Too Vol. 1, Deviations: Covenant (2nd Ed.), Vol. 2, Deviations: Appetite, Vol. 3, Deviations: Destiny, Vol. 4, Deviations: Bloodlines, Vol. 5, Deviations: TelZodo, Vol. 6 and conclusion: Deviations: Second Covenant.Free downloads at the Deviations website (click here for alternate link), Smashwords, and Manybooks.

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