From a Distance - Oct 2 2023

 

From a Distance

Oct 2 2023

From a great distance

the surface of the earth

resolves into abstract art.

The forest for the trees, as is said,

and our vision

hardly distant from the ground

is as singular as that,

familiar, circumscribed, granular;

figurative art

that is technically skilled

but unimaginative.

The despots

of the last century

branded abstraction as degenerate,

the corrupting influence

of the Jews, and homosexuals

subversives intellectuals.

But without this distance

how much beauty are we missing?

The drama

of our brilliant green and blue planet

so reduced to the mundane

it's hardly worth noticing.

While these striking images

reveal how fragile it is;

the beauty

of its remote and untouched places

incrementally threatened

day by day.

As well as how small;

a lonely planet

on the fringes of the Milky Way,

barely visible

against the blackness of space.

Here's a link to the Atlantic, where some of this year's finalists in the nature photography contest sponsored by Nature TTL are featured, and which set me off on this poem. (Unfortunately, I'm not able to copy them here.)

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2023/10/winners-nature

And while I'm at it, here's a song I love — even despite the “God” stuff! — which immediately came to mind with the opening line.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCzORgC1NpM

I wanted to close with the famous image of “Blue Marble Earth” taken by the Apollo 17 astronauts on their way to the moon. Unfortunately, I am also prevented from copying So I suggest you simply Google it.