This year needs us more than ever, by Rachel Clyne

It is not enough that we
write these words,
send thoughts & prayers,
emoji hearts & tearful faces.
What burns South today
will flood North tomorrow.

It is not enough to watch
programmes, sign petitions,
recycle & reduce.
What we produce today
will choke us tomorrow.

We must plant a new kind of heart
one that’s broken and grows back
to stand oak-strong.
One that seeds itself
in simple acts from strangers.
A heart that speaks out
and knowing the odds,
still bears fruit to sustain us.

Rachael Clyne from Glastonbury is published in journals and anthologies. She is involved with local council responses to climate emergency, and local resilience. Her collection, Singing at the Bone Tree (Indigo Dreams), concerns our broken relationship with nature. Her pamphlet, Girl Golem (www.4word.org), explores her Jewish migrant heritage and sense of otherness. 

Photo by Eriks Abzinovs on Pexels.com