THE START OF AN INTERGENERATIONAL POETIC TRADITION
Where poetic intergenerational bonds are forged.
Thoughts from Lynette Thorstensen - Incoming Chair of Poetry for Planet Advisory Board
As I look back on my highlights of 2024, there is no doubt that one of them was meeting Parneet Kaur and Francesco Grugni at the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) in Rome In October. The occasion was the World Food Forum, a major United Nations event attended by thousands of people. Parneet, the Founder and Executive Director of Poetry for Planet opened the entire proceedings. A slight young woman, wearing a pale pink shimmering saree, her long black hair falling to her waist, she recited her mesmerising poem: Plant a Poem.
The audience was in awe. Parneet reminded us all of the power of poetry, a different way of telling a story, a different way of reminding some of the world’s most important decision makers that young people have so much to say, have a voice, and poetry is a legitimate, mysterious and powerful way of expressing their fears and their hopes for a green, just and inclusive future.
The following days we had many meetings, we saw Parneet perform again, and also present the shared poem on food titled “Good food for all, for today and tomorrow” which had the words hand painted on a green and orange saree.
I attended this event with Adam Cairns, a fellow Board member, a fellow Poet and a fellow Elder. We look forward to our ongoing intergenerational exchanges with the youth led movement that is Poetry for Planet.
With my warmest regards and more strength to you all.
Lynette
Parneet's poem at the World Food Forum 2024
Parneet's poem at the World Food Forum 2024
Parneet performing her poem during the Opening ceremony of FAO World Food Forum in Rome, 2024.
The first poem ever written,
was with seeds and not words;
when they said,
“The way to the heart is through the stomach.”
And that’s where;
Dear all,
The permutations and combinations began,
To birth a muse
Every leaf, a line.
Every fruit, a verse.
Every farm, a poem.
Inspired, the Brazilians
turn the land into a bard,
Birthing couplets after couplets
of cacao and cassava,
And a lesson for us to reap,
To trust our youth,
And let them lead.
Assured,
her heart brimming with faith,
Nature retreats into her ‘zai pit’,
In Sahel,
To dip her toes in a mushy embrace
Of mulch and manure,
To pause
To recover
To nurture
The next generation to lead.
Overcome by compassion
for nature’s perennial labor,
the Indians,
slake her thirst
By pouring love,
Drip by drip,
aiming straight for the roots.
Gracefully, leaving imprints of a reminder;
To bow
To reflect
To reconnect
To fall in love
With one’s roots.
Raising a toast to intergenerational generosity,
the Native Americans
plant three sisters,
maize, beans and squash, together;
As a gesture to console
A lovelorn young batch of crops
Biding its time for a fruitful explosion.
Following closely,
The Romans
quick to her reprieve,
save her from another
“Et tu Brute”.
And as we stand on the cusp
Of a golden bloom,
Listen carefully
“Do you hear the joy in Earth’s womb?”
Now!
Before you pay homage to
the sun and moon god,
Before you sharpen your sickle
for the harvest,
Gently take a step back,
Trace the trail of agriculture
From Brazil to Italy,
All the way to the beginning,
To the very first poem,
Written with seeds and not words.