I ask myself is this
the Great Derangement
Ghosh writes about
my poems full of birds
and butterflies
of childhood memories
clouds glowing in the sunset
while every day the news
grows darker with fresh word
of how the warming
of the earth proceeds ahead of schedule
spawning more catastrophic storms
more devastating droughts
worse flooding
glacial melt leading to ocean rise
acidic waters killing coral reefs
the thawing tundra giving off methane
the arctic sea ice disappearing
wildfires spread across the western states
raging in Canada
Siberia, Australia and Greece
a daunting litany
that leaves me wondering
what poetry can come
from all of this
at least the daily effort
has done little harm
and tethers me
to something that seems greater
and more grounded
than my fleeting hopes and fears