It’s April which means, once again, that the ghosts of Na/GloPoWriMo walk among us.  Ever year I debate about whether I should participate, & every year I end up saying to myself “come on, suck it up”

Last year (you might recall) was a wee bit of a crazy one … & to reflect that I wrote every poem around the theme of corona & plague & pandemics & virus.   For me at least, it worked very well. I got to explore a hot topic in a range of ways; while managing to produce 4 or 5 reasonably high quality poems on the topic, in a range of styles. So I intend trying the same trick this year — except this time the 30 poems won’t be about the world ending in plague. Whew! Everyone says. 

No, this year I intend to explore heat & climate change & extreme weather events. It’s a topic I’ve already penned a dozen or so poems about; but given it really is the burning topic of the age, it’s one I’ve wanted to explore more. Indeed, it feels like there’s a moral obligation as an artist to explore it; and for the world to actually act on it.

denial of a different kind 

when a thing — 
the threat of a thing
is so — so vastly big
ordinary brains
(brains that are far
from brilliant
at even the best of times)
— become bamboozled, 
boggled, & literally 
bogged into inaction —
thoughts unable to move
in any direction — 
stuck under a quick
sand miasma of missed
information
— real & imagined

it seems all this simple
mind is capable of
is crawling beneath 
the covers & hiding
from the immensity
of the impending
holocaust

the only apparent
benefit being at least 
my doona-clutching 
cowardice won’t generate 
too much in the way
of excess carbon costs