The Lonely Genius Walked across the ruble, all that remained Of the war he saw coming The Genius was warned Do not exist too loudly, as not to frighten The minds of those who could only see The Genius plotted He hoed, he sowed, he weeped He waited The Genius prayed He listened, he […]
Posted inVoices
No guns, no oil: A call to love life
On dismantling the ‘thin blue line’ that blocks us from action To meet the challenges of the global climate crisis, we need bold ideas and to speak truth to power. That’s the idea behind Climate/Justice, a Planet Detoit opinion column written by Detroit-based environmental justice activist Michelle Martinez. Martinez writes not only as an activist […]
Posted inClimate poems, Community, Deep Dives
POEM: ‘Last Ice’
{ November } How do we prepare?The wooden swing wrapped in plastic on the lawn.An unopened bag of rock salt next to the garage.My father’s bright orange camouflage snowsuit on the hallway benchfresh from the attic.In a diner on the edges of the lake,Laura, a waitress with kind eyes, makes her way toward me.“Fill up?” […]
Posted inCommunity
POEM: ‘take up space’
take up space and be a Garden welcome seeds of knowledge home loving, naming splitting open knowledge means to know spread fireseeds like bits of ember sparks from sorrowed hearts cradled and tendered in tangles and brambles pierce earth softly making mesh take up space and be a Forest which at times must burn, the […]
Posted inClimate poems, Community, Deep Dives
POEM: ‘The Planet They Call Home’
Why do some planets get so many moons? the juvenile Earth sighed to his mother. And why is mine so far away? With craters and a dark side? Well, said his mother, who saw her son lamenting pithy worries. He did not deserve to spiral. He is an orbiter who orbits. His perception skewed […]
Posted inClimate poems, Community, Deep Dives
POEM: ‘Rot<>Prayer’
Tags: Archives, Libraries, History, Labor, Decomposition, Liberation, Hope Enough! The social reviewed, the docket revealed. Unlock the morning; go back inside the mid-stretch yawn. Our clay unconsumed, what could it be? Refuse to say what is and isn’t gold tone. Tune and laminate, never change but gobble up maleficence, prophecy— dire needs make too many […]
Posted inClimate poems, Community, Deep Dives
POEM: ‘Planted’
My home is the soil I carry with me, the dirt I made myself from the food I didn’t finish cut ends that didn’t go into the soup fruit that molded too soon. Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed. My plants and I dine from the same menu then in exchange I […]
Posted inClimate poems, Community, Deep Dives
Planet Detroit + Room Project Present: Detroit Climate Poems
While writing poetry about climate change may not seem like it will make a difference, we also see it as an act of resistance. That’s why, in partnership with Room Project, we are publishing six poems from Planet Detroit readers that grapple with life amid climate change. Enjoy, and join us Sunday, June 7 at Room Project to […]
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Introducing Climate/Justice: A new Planet Detroit opinion column by Michelle Martinez
To meet the challenges of the global climate crisis, we need bold ideas and to speak truth to power. That’s the idea behind Climate/Justice, a new Planet Detroit column by Detroit-based environmental justice activist Michelle Martinez. Martinez writes not only as an activist but as a mother and fourth-generation Detroiter. She brings a clear-eyed perspective […]
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A northern Michigan tornado, a deadly spring Chicago heatwave & fixing MI's grid
CO2 2022/2021 : 421.74 ppm / 420.65 ppm Dear Michigan Climate News readers, Climate advocacy groups are aiming to get the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Michigan utilities for creating obstacles to solar power. A rare tornado hit northern Michigan — could it become more common? And a heatwave in Chicago killed three women in […]