Ecopoetry: For the Love of Nature and All of Her Inhabitants

For millennia, the beauty of the natural world has been an infinite fountain of inspiration for artists of all races and nationalities who resort to poetry to express their love and appreciation of nature, and many of these verses survive to this day.

Tagore, the world-renowned Indian writer and poet, saw nature as a manifestation of the highest universal principle in Hinduism, the Brahman, and composed many beautiful, wise verses on nature.

Rūmī, a venerated enlightened spiritual Master of the Sufi tradition wrote many poems that not only describe the beauty of nature but also inspire readers to seek higher meanings beyond. “I Died as a Mineral” is one of them. “I died as a mineral and became a plant; I died as plant and rose to an animal; I died as an animal and I was a man. Why should I fear? When was I less by dying? …”

Poetry that has strong ecological content and takes a more critical view of humanity’s relationship with the planet is becoming more popular and relevant. Such work is known as ecopoetry and is a subgenre of ecocriticism, the study of literature and its relationship to the environment. “The Dead Seal at McClure's Beach” is an ecopoem written by multiple award-winning poet, essayist, and activist Robert Bly from the United States. The poem opens our eyes to really see the cruelty that humans are imposing on the people of the seal kingdom. Many Latin American poets also expressed their environmental concern through their works.

Our beloved Supreme Master Ching Hai has also written several ecopoems, such as “Please Wake Up!” that express Her deep sorrow and concern about the current state of our world, and call for people to be good stewards of Mother Earth and all of our animal-people co-inhabitants. Supreme Master Ching Hai’s poems are powerful tools to awaken people from their slumber. She once revealed the effect of one of Her poems after it was aired on Supreme Master Television. “You know, just one poem that I wrote, the poem of the piglet, 130,000 people turned into vegetarian for good.”

Ecopoetry courses are now being taught at various universities. In the UK, ecopoetry competitions are held to raise awareness, gain insight, and evoke concern about the pressing environmental issues we’re currently facing.