Suzanne read two environmental themed poems from her book Passion Seeds to close the Fulbright Enrichment Seminar,
“Preparing for and Mitigating the Effects of Climate Change,” held by the Cleveland Council on World Affairs in Cleveland, Ohio
May 11-14, 2022 for current Fulbrighters to the U.S. and Greater Cleveland Fulbright Alumni.
Air
Sometimes I wonder where the wind goes,
and I want to go too,
even though I don’t know where.
I want to be sound.
I want to be free movement,
with no passports
and no boundaries.
Global Warming and Internal Combustion
It’s thick wood
cinder blocks and hot stones
begging for water,
one ladle-full, to explode vapor
into air, to make colorless color hang for ingestion
into cells, so they can purify, so they can push the beating out—
for moisture to meet moisture—sweat to steam—steam
to sweat. And isn’t that sometimes just what the world is,
a hot room enclosed into itself ?
Blood flows but words are sparse.
Our world erupts through airlets
in the sky, asks for a cold-water bath to purify,
close pores, seal mouths and shut eyes.
It’s time to jump into ice, snow.
Time to seal and rinse, cooling (hot heads).
We make saunas everyday,
but don’t listen, just spew.
It’s hot in here brother,
open the window—breathe.