ChildoftheBeat In reply to Artivark250 [2016-05-14 08:54:49 +0000 UTC]

Hi Artivark, I said I'd explain it, so, sorry for taking such a ridiculous amount of time to do so, but here goes

I wrote this after watching a documentary following the presenter on her trip through south-east Asia, along the Mekong river, about the peoples that she encountered there, but also the environmental destruction, and in particular the deforestation that she witnessed there. It left me feeling a deep sense of sadness at the loss of something so precious and so beautiful, but also a recognition of why it was happening, the needs of people who were often very poor to meet their basic needs this way, who often did not have many choices.

So the first couplet speaks to that destruction of the forest and environment more broadly, often burnt to prepare land for agriculture - needed for subsistance agriculture, or the logging of wood for a small wage - both enable people to provide for themselves one of the most basic needs - food to eat, for themselves but often also for their families and even extended families - and the gratitude this leads to, especially for those that may not always have enough. Food is also often the centre of communal, social and community life, breaking bread together often has a deep resonance with people, and a spiritual dimension.

The second couplet refers to the many dams springing up along the Mekong, for energy needed to power modern homes, cities, industry etc - through that activity and the resulting economic growth, and its' enabling of more economic activities beyond agriculture, amongst others, people are able to afford to educate their children more, need them less to work on the land - whilst power and light enables them to do homework etc after dark. The environmental effect of the dams however, if there aren't the proper diversion canals to let some of the flow through freely, is to kill off the marine life, or at least that part of it that needs to move up and down the river as part of their life cycle - and so also diminishes those birds and other animals that depend on them for food - whilst reducing the amount of fish people are able to catch for the same purpose - often leading to overfishing of what is left, compounding the problem. People often stick to traditions and traditional activities, even when change is needed, in whether or not to continue with the activity or change the way it is done to increase sustainability.

The third again looks at logging, the destruction of these proud, beautiful, living organisms - and setting it off against the healthcare that this activity might help pay for either directly, or through the sale of processed wood products, or as a result of increased economic activity for the community or country as a whole. Again, the need to reduce pain, suffering and disease is one I understand and central to human development and well-being - and yet, as the last part of the second line expresses, the cutting down of these beings also leads to a sense of deep sadness and spiritual loss - something magical has died, and cannot easily be replaced, if at all. Our sense of awe and wonder at creation is reduced, along with our joy and happiness, leaving a deep sense of yearning.

The last starts with a representation of the silencing of the busy chatter, noise and life from all the animals that live in these forests being evicted when it is burned down or logged - the natural world and life drains away in favour of a human agricultural or urban environment, built to suit our needs, not theirs, and this is gradually extending further and further on this planet. Our links to and understanding of the natural world is reduced or severed - and yet, as animals ourselves that have evolved from and alongside all the other creatures that live there, we cannot help but be a part of it - that is our nature, even if we increasingly disconnect with it and with that understanding as we urbanise and digitse, living increasingly in a virtual world.

There is also often a sense when and where humans have not dominated and mastered their environment, that they live 'at the mercy' of nature, the risk that comes with some predators or other potentially dangerous animals, the possibility of crops failing - particularly a problem if you and your family live from subsistence agriculture, of fragile homes being destroyed by natural disasters - or in Laos, for instance, their love of concrete gardens, because it keeps the jungle from rapidly growing where it has been cleared, taking over again and resulting in more work to keep an area clear.

Ultimately, it is about the desire for a more balanced development - one that does not destroy nature to such a great extent, and leaves sufficient space for it - it has often been said that we rely on it for well-being, both mental, emotional and spiritual, and to live in greater harmony with the rest of life - something that I picked up in your beautiful picture.

It would be cruel to deny people, who are often poor, and have little access to health, education, food etc their dreams of an easier, comfortable westernised lifestyle, especially at a time where communication channels such as the internet, TV, and cheap transport make that divide all the more apparent - but I think there is the need for a more respectful development, both there and in the west - for example by promoting more vegetarian or vegan diets, which would require considerably less land for agriculture - but with the benefits of modern nutrition and trade to ensure that this promotes good health rather than condemning people to poor health. It would also entail the use of sensitively obtained renewable energy to power our homes, economic activity and cities, of low impact homes and other construction using sustainable materials that require less heating and cooling through better insulation, or possibly the application of ideas such as the passivhaus method of home-building, designed to need very little energy and using modern understanding and technology - but natural materials, of providing the best healthcare and education possible to people, but encouraging the reduction in consumerism and waste in our work and life through ideas like the circular economy, cradle-to-cradle design and a reduction or banning of planned obsolescence, manufacture of "throw-away" food and drink packaging, fashion or technology, for instance, to be replaced instead by well designed and built, long-lasting products, designed to use recycled materials and to be recycled or re-used, limiting ourselves to what we need rather than being the slaves of artificially created desires through advertising... creating a world based on cooperation rather than competition, where we truly look after each other, whatever species we are (and share our wisdom and our knowledge, whilst looking beyond the love of money and riches), and much more besides...

Hope this is helpful and interesting, and once again sorry for such a late reply. Take good care of yourself and your good heart

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ChildoftheBeat In reply to Artivark250 [2014-12-05 17:14:02 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, your comments are much appreciated

As for understanding the poem, if you want I could explain some of the ideas and emotions that i've tried to convey - although everyone reads a poem differently, often finding different things that speak to them - and sometimes a little mystery, and aspects half perceived, but that you can't quite put your finger on are part of the charm - or you can ask me any questions you'd like to know the answer to, without me waxing lyrical about what's important to me - that may work better

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Artivark250 In reply to ChildoftheBeat [2014-12-06 06:20:21 +0000 UTC]

I sent you a note.

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ChildoftheBeat In reply to oviedomedina [2014-12-05 13:19:23 +0000 UTC]

Thank you, glad you enjoyed it - and thanks for the

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