‘Save Your Tears for Another Day’ Published in The Anthropocene Hymnal Anthology!
I am honored to share my poem, Save Your Tears for Another Day, is published in The Anthropocene Hymnal, an anthology of poetry exploring the personalities and consciousness of climate change.
Edited by Ingrid Wilson of Experiments In Fiction, the Hymnal is made gorgeous by a cover collage by Kerfe Roig. The book is a labor of love and gesture of intention from every voice captured on the Hymnal’s pages; each piece of writing shares a personal connection to the way climate change affects even the smallest life.
Writing my poem, I thought of the raging northwest fires and the mountain fire that sprang to life only miles from my home several years ago. The tang of smoke on the air ashes my heart. I thought of the masks and plastic gloves swirling in the ocean. As The Anthropocene Hymnal heads out into the world, I think of the heatwave this year has brought, of hurricanes, earthquakes, and flooding.
Writing my poem, I thought most of all of the water crisis at the America/Mexico border. This is the first event that brought the evidence of climate change strikingly into my life, as the border crisis sparked Thirst For Humanity. Thirst For Humanity took the form of a virtual gallery show, for which my mother painted pieces displaying her connection to water, with the art sales benefiting numerous organizations working to save immigrant lives.
I find natural disasters oddly beautiful. It is not the destruction that calls to me, but the sound and sight and rising smell. Those huge forest fires with pillars of tongue-flame orange blaze and rising clouds of smoke? The hurricanes with their hoopskirts of angry water, smashing flat the palm trees and reducing the shoreline to a sliver of darkness? Cracks in the earth, molten lava erupting; red-hot twists on a snake’s back?
These sights belong in writing and in painting. These smells belong in dreams and imaginings of fantasy worlds. I do not want them in my world, but they exist, creeping into knowledge, saying humanity is a dirty existence, and splashing their happening across our hearts.
The Hymnal, songs of a self-defining era, is a portrait of a cleaner relationship with earth. The rough hands of ignorance are gentling with awareness. Read an in-depth review here.
The sales of this book will benefit the WWF, an organization seeking to protect and conserve the diversity of life on earth. I give my words to the ongoing effort of reducing the impact of climate change.
The following is an excerpt of my poem, Save Your Tears for Another Day.
The horizon blisters
The moon melts in the icicles
Only the sun unwraps her cotton robe and
Bathes in a copper basin filled with
Diluted sweat. Today she
Calls it seawater . . .
I hope you savor the cries within this book and hear the pleas for intentional living. I hope you experience the dance of emotion and motion the songs in this book evoke and move beyond their tune to find your own. If you are so called, the Hymnal is available in paperback or ebook format via Amazon here.
Cover Art: New World by Kerfe Roig.
Vote me Author of the Month at Spillwords Press! Vote here.
Donna Vitalie
Congratulations on being published. Very exciting!
aimsysantics
Firstly, congratulations again on being published, you are a truly gifted writer! I love how you are highlighting climate change in your work, it is such a big topic that is so relevant at the moment.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Aimsy xoxo
Aimsy’s Antics
Jeff Flesch
Pleas, indeed. I am very much looking forward to reading them all when my book arrives; and knowing you are in this lovely work, makes me more eager. Congrats, Jaya! Oh, and that you used sweat and seawater together, while creating and expressing the sun, is brilliant.
Jaya Avendel
Thank you, Jeff! Love that you appreciate the sweat and seawater connection!
Jeff Flesch
I do, indeed! And, the book arrived today! How fun. You’re welcome, Jaya!
Vanelle
Congratulations and well done, Jaya! Love the cover collage. Climate change has now become a hot topic in the world’s agenda. Hopefully, this book will help to raise awareness about the health of our planet – cause there’s no greater luxury than sustainability. Thanks for sharing! x
Jaya Avendel
Thank you for sharing your kind words, Vanelle!
Jodie | That Happy Reader
Congratulations Jaya on pubishing another poem. Climate change is definitely all around us and it is nice to read another take on all this devastation. Clearly you see the positive whenever positive. Thanks for sharing.
lynnmumbingmejia
Congratulations on publishing another piece, Jaya! This write-up was so beautiful and climate change has crossed my mind so much lately since we’ve been going through an extreme heatwave on and off this month. Love the impact you’re making. Thanks for sharing x
Lynn | https://www.lynnmumbingmejia.com
Jaya Avendel
Thank you for your enthusiasm, Lynn!
Keep Calm & Drink Coffee
“I do not want them in my world, but they exist, creeping into knowledge, saying humanity is a dirty existence, and splashing their happening across our hearts.”
I love this sentence of yours!
I call seawater your Words which refresh me like a wave of positive inspiring wonderful thoughts.
Thank You Jaya!
Jaya Avendel
Claudia, as always, your words are touching and beautiful to me. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Keep Calm & Drink Coffee
<3
apoet'svisionKrissy
congrats!!❤❤😊
paeansunplugged
The opening lines of your poem contain the odd beauty of natural disasters you have written about. I hope the book can awaken awareness. Let’s avert as many natural disasters as we can with our collective efforts.
Jaya Avendel
Beautifully expressed and lived! Thank you.
paeansunplugged
You are welcome, Jaya.
Michele Lee
It has been a delight following the progress of Ingrid’s project, from the first days of voting on a nonprofit to publication. Congratulations to you and your fellow contributors. Jaya, your writing in this post swept me away and your poem! Wow! Wonderful learning about your mom’s painting contributions. Creating art runs in your family. 💕
Jaya Avendel
Thank you, Michele! Really love that my poem connected with you. <3
Michele Lee
My pleasure.
Gabriela Marie Milton
A beautiful excerpt from a beautiful poem Jaya.
xoxo
minametry84
I liked the piece so much, it shows how the world is a place we can not say what will happen inside it in future. I consider this poem is a good lesson to us
Jaya Avendel
I am glad you consider it so!
summer with monika
what a sensual image of the sun … I can’t wait to read the rest!
Ingrid
Thank you for this beautiful write-up Jaya! It was wonderful to learn more about the inspiration behind your poem, which I have come to know and love through many readings. The world is becoming an unpredictable place to live and we neglect to recognise her strength and beauty at our peril!
Jaya Avendel
Thank you, Ingrid! I loved giving my words.
Mahesh
👌👌
Andrew McDowell
Congrats!