Post 18 | Nature Poetry

My initial reaction to nature poetry was exactly a positive reaction. Although after re-reading “State of the Planet” and discussing it in class my opinion changed. I honestly never take time to ponder the beauty of the Earth or enjoy its benefits. I agree with Corrigan in that simply because those that hold different views in other areas than I do yet believe we should preserve the Earth still have a valid point when saying we should preserve our Earth. A quote from State of the Planet stuck out to me more than ever this last time I read it. It says “Lucretius, we have grown so clever that mechanics in our art of natural philosophy can take the property of luminescence from a Jellyfish and put it in mice. In the dark the creatures give off a greenish light. Their bodies must be very strange to them.” This quote is so strong in that it shows not where the Earth is headed but has already reached. It shows that although research is great and allows for discoveries, there is impact on nature. I feel this is shown when he says, “their bodies must be very strange to them.” This line made me think what if I was in the same situation; if I was simply an experiment. With all this said I feel the second read was a lot more impactful. I do hold the belief that while we care for nature we should never care for animals than humans. For example if an alligator is attacking someone I feel it is completely necessary to kill it and not wave off its actions as part of its aggressive nature. We do need to respect the Planet we live in although. I feel “State of the Planet” is very impactful in telling us this.