Al Gore's Poem

I had to write about this. It's rare to find an environmentalist who was a former politician who now expresses himself through poetry. In his book, Our Choice, Al Gore, of An Inconvenient Truth fame, wrote a  poem which appears on page 28 of the book. It's actually quite haunting in its imagery. He takes the time to choose words carefully, like "Neptune's bones" and one of my favorite lines is constructed, thus: "Ice fathers flood for a season." And the line that follows brings to mind Ondoy: "A hard rain comes quickly."

Poetry truly is the only way to distill anything complicated in our lives.

One thin September soon
A floating continent disappears
In midnight sun

Vapors rise as
Fever settles on an acid sea
Neptune's bones dissolve

Snow glides from the mountain
Ice fathers floods for a season
A hard rain comes quickly

Then dirt is parched
Kindling is placed in the forest
For the lightning's celebration

Unknown creatures
Take their leave, unmourned
Horsemen ready their stirrups

Passion seeks heroes and friends
The bell of the city
On the hill is rung
 
The shepherd cries
The hour of choosing has arrived
Here are your tools 


Image is the cover of Al Gore's book, Our Choice