Haze & Poetry

I have a poem out today in The New Verse News about the haze that has come down from Canada and continues to affect the East Coast. I know this is not new for California or many places in India, Pakistan, China, Bangladesh, and elsewhere. I see the posts by those living in NYC and Philly and places that have currently had the worst air quality (AQI) levels on record. It feels ominous like a sign of what is to come.

How often should we expect this? What else is on the horizon? We're entering El Niño season where we are expected to see record breaking temperatures in certain parts of the U.S. The fires rage on. Natural disasters are shifting patterns. I know there are doubters who question what degree this has to do with climate change; with that in mind, can we all agree the Earth is changing for human life in ways that are going to be scary for many and downright terrifying for future generations? It's good to keep in mind that we, humans, are shockingly good innovators. We get ourselves in trouble and we are pretty darn good at getting ourselves out of it. From where we stand now, I do not envy the children and future people who will struggle in 2050. Don't count us out though. We might turn this around.

For now, let me take a moment to speak to this poem. I've been embarrassed about asthma my entire life. It's one of my many weaknesses. I've written about this in my most recent collection 'Meatless' (Plan B Press). Over the past few days, I've barely been outside. When I have been out, even wearing a mask, my asthma has been, well, pretty bad. I'm not looking forward to more days with air quality in the Red Zone.

It seems worth mentioning that, in a way, these past few days have felt like a kind of "inverse covid". The few times that I have been out, I wore a mask outside and in the car and then took the mask off while indoors.