This article is written by TNSM parent members of the Diversity and Community and Engagement Committee (D+CE) and expresses their views. At TNSM, we are grateful to have this D+CE forum that allows opportunities for members of our community to share their own beliefs, always with the goal of expanding our understanding of each other’s experiences and points of view.
It’s Earth month and lucky for us, it kicked off with a magical solar eclipse at the beginning of the week. Whether you saw the eclipse in totality or not, hopefully in stillness you were able to marvel at our Universe.
April also marks National Poetry Month. Many of your children may be coming home to talk about limericks they wrote, or poems about their dream homes. This week we offer a poem from Chilean poet and activist Pablo Neruda called Keeping Still. As some of us from The New School Montessori community enjoyed the eclipse together–an audience to the sun, moon and stars–a reminder of our connection to our planet was palpable. Sometimes it takes “quiet” to witness this.
PABLO NERUDA: KEEPING STILL
Interpreted by Dan Belm
Now we will count to twelve
and let’s keep quiet.
For once on earth
let’s not talk in any language;
let’s stop for one second,
and not move our arms so much.
A moment like that would smell sweet,
no hurry, no engines,
all of us at the same time
in need of rest.
Fishermen in the cold sea
would stop harming whales
and the gatherer of salt
would look at his hurt hands.
Those who prepare green wars,
wars with gas, wars with fire,
victories with no survivors,
would put on clean clothes
and go for a walk with their brothers
out in the shade, doing nothing.
Just don’t confuse what I want
with total inaction;
it’s life and life only;
I’m not talking about death.
If we weren’t so single-minded
about keeping our lives moving
and could maybe do nothing for once
a huge silence might interrupt this sadness
of never understanding ourselves,
of threatening ourselves with death;
perhaps the earth could teach us;
everything would seem dead
and then be alive.
Now I will count up to twelve
and you keep quiet
and I will go.
And for those of you who are eager to increase your stewardship of our planet this month (“don’t confuse what I want with total inaction”), here are some suggestions for engaging in our community this month.
Check out Urban Native Collective (get connected with the original stewards of this land by volunteering, donating, learning)
Cincinnati Nature Center Earth Day Celebration (get your hands dirty, activities for all ages)
