水的力量：庆祝民族诗歌月和地球日

April is National Poetry Month and Earth Day is also today (April 22)! As a poet, writer, and environmentalist, I feel obligated to craft something interesting for this wonderful month honoring one of the most expressive written forms and the best planet in our solar system.

What’s so special about poetry?

Poetry provides a unique glimpse into the past, present, and future. The vibrant words written on a page project a scene in our minds strung together by words, emotions, and memories from our own experiences and imaginations.

以自然为主题的诗歌和散文是今天地球日要强调的话题，在全球和整个时间的文化中都广为人知。关于自然诗歌的某些东西引起了许多读者的好奇心。几年前，当我为博物馆举办有关海事诗歌的节目时，我遇到了几首诗，这些诗是向我介绍的，这是诗歌的力量如何帮助解释世界的细节并将人们联系到土地上的例子。在我们周围。

In Langston Hughes’ piece,“Long Trip”他抓住了海洋的广阔性以及与这个神秘地方的人际关系。

“The sea is a wilderness of waves,
水沙漠。
We dip and dive,
上升，滚动，
Hide and are hidden
On the sea.
Day, night,
Night, day,
The sea is a desert of waves,
水的荒野。”

As I read Hughes’ words, I imagine myself at the beach as a child: families splashing in the waves, kids swimming in the salty waters dodging horseshoe crabs and fish, and the transition from the sparking daytime to the secretive and yet exposed moon-lit night. How quickly the setting and rising sun change a landscape and, this even shifts how we connect to the land.

在这个时代，更了解我们与野生世界的个人联系至关重要。人们如何互动和理解世界的自然奇观在野生空间的保护中起着重要作用。如果我们与需要保护的地方有牢固的关系，那么我们更有可能关心这些领域。

与我们更大的世界建立有意义的联系至关重要，通常我发现这些观察结果似乎是期望的和常见的事件。有人注意到孩子们在夏日建造沙堡。另一个人在海洋遥远的海水中看到海豚。另一个人注意到他们对水的平静表面的反射从船上看不见。无论观察到多么“正常”，实现都是诗意的，通常是深刻的，在平凡与神秘之间建立了联系。像伊丽莎白·斯皮尔斯（Elizabeth Spiers）一样，孩子们建造沙堡的场景，”豪宅海滩，”成为进入我们生活的时间，乏味和小本质的门户。

“整个下午他们的城堡，可怜和骄傲，
玫瑰倒下。建立了伟大的文明，
结束，孩子们强大的领主，他们的城堡

only as small as we are to the stars and starry structures.
The day was infinite for them, time stretching
到最远的地平线，他们的霸道。”

In another aspect, to many mariners, nature and the open ocean can be a place of adventure, a place to challenge our strengths, as we read in many famous maritime poetry or stories. It can simultaneously be a place to seek solace, especially for those needing time to process and reflect upon all emotions in their lives, including tragedy.

在Dan Taulapapa McMullin的诗歌中的摘录中，题为“大海的门，”他写道，损失和海洋。

“There was a ship
went into the sea
在我兄弟的身体上
I am just a boy
he was not much older than me
the goddess is good and cruel
wants her share of life, like us
sparkling dust of birds far away whom we follow, the stars
the blood red dust of life
作为我哥哥的脸
disappeared beneath us”

How does all this work into the Museum and Park?

The root of our mission here at The Mariners’ Museum and Park is that we are connected through the shared histories of the world’s waters. Part of our purpose in the greater community is to share those important stories and to show people we are all connected in some way.

如果您想一想，水是我们所做的一切 - 我们的生命实际上取决于它！我们和其他生物依靠干净的water flowing through our rivers, streams, wetlands, lakes, and oceans. As I mentioned before, the more connections we feel to nature, the more people will protect it– and on this Earth Day, we could use all the help we can get! I encourage you to go out into nature, whether it’s in our Park or somewhere else, and just find something small to appreciate, and if you’re feeling daring, you could even write a poem about it, too.