Bogged down by feelings of dread and hopelessness after reading [via the Washington Post] that Ukrainian scientist, Dr. Svitlana Krakovska, attended a meeting to fight against global catastrophe and for "a climate-resilient future" even as her city was being bombed, my thoughts ran along the lines of...
This is just not right.
This is not the world I know.
It's like we're reliving the worst of history while barreling towards dystopia.
I hadn't planned on joining #50PreciousWords this year, but it's how I ended up processing my hopes and fears.
The title is a question I hear from my 6-year-old too many times a day. And I realized that there are so many ways to dissect it:
What?
Can I?
I do?
The answer's in there too: What I do.
Many of us are far from the world of politics and governance, where the biggest moves need to be made. But we all do something for a living. And my hope, as a #kidlit creator, is that through what I do, I get more kids to choose a path that leads to great strides in ecological sustainability.
Dear daughter, if you're listening, here's my 48-word answer to your question:
WHAT CAN I DO?
Bored, she said:
“What can I do?”
Bleak, the world cried,
“What can you?”
Eyes to gray skies,
she asks,
“Can I?”
Hail pelting pavement,
the reply:
“Will you?”
Oceans rise.
“I do.”
Catastrophe
catches its breath.
“Thank you.”
“From here on,
it’s what I’ll do.
... Now you.”
Comments