CHAOS AS A COMMON PLACE
Monday, November 13, 2006
Greenhope reminded us last Wednesday about the drought in Australia, which has resulted in, among other things, a dramatic scarcity of water and "heaps of dangerous snakes coming out looking for food." It could all be quite mesmerizing, if the chaos hammering the planet wasn't so deadly. Still. The loam of thought is a little more fertile.The truth is, when we change the jurisdictions of certainty, we are also altering the soil of our minds. What manner of stories can arise from the excursion of desperate serpents on increasingly arid land south of our world?
Everything is changing. Without concerted, urgent action, in as little as twenty five years, the ice caps of Africa's two highest peaks are expected to vanish. On this continent, loss is so final, so vivid. The other day, Richard from Kenya told me about the rapidly desiccating Lake Nakuru, one of the biggest fresh water basins in the country, and the evaporation of the great River Mau which resulted in the mass death of flamingos.
In this age of calamities, the deluge becomes commonplace while extremes of heat and monsoon become regular visitors to the hearth. Reference to all things may change. Even pining. "Announcement during a storm," goes the title of John Iremil E. Teodoro's poem."The jalousies are shaking
I imagine that when they shatter
The shards will be as sharp
As my pining for you
Which is wounding the skin
Of my jealousies."
Excerpt from "Panawagan habang bumabagyo," John Iremil E. Teodoro, What the water said: Alon Poems (University of San Agustin, Manila: 2004). Translation by Redster. The flamingo photo is from www.harunhaya.com, the Kilimanjaro pic is from www.diseno-art.com and the Australian drought image is from www.afrol.com.
posted by Redster @ 3:49 AM,
2 Comments:
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At 10:37 AM,
Anna Maria M. Gonzales said...
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When something "out of the ordinary" happnes, it usually means something that makes humans uncomfortable.
Trying to make ourselves comfortable could be destroying the planet.
If thousands of snakes come out, it just means that thousands of snakes are coming out.
Human, get out of the way.
I think that will be my mantra for quite a while. Paraphrasing something I read or heard a few years ago - the earth can take care of itself; it's humans who can't discern what's good for them.
Yeah, dirty the water, air and soil, all the earth needs to do is to give out one big sneeze and we'll all be gone.
Human, pay attention. -
At 10:15 PM,
said...
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feel sorry for the flamingoes, sorry for the polar bears, sorry for the penguines, the butterflies, the wolves.
`mostly i feel sorry for the human apes.
but red, how is the negotiation going?
