let everything here be grounded

let

the decomposing commence

make a cosmos together
and stick to our image
until it tilts

is our image an elm
is our image a forest

let it occur at the edges
weave closed the tears
that we can imagine
that we cannot imagine

bloom without the bones
that kept us upright
with which we went looking

while your arrows pointed
from the ground to our narrowing

change us
consume us

we will speak with strings
when words are spoiled

we promise
not to eat from the fungus
growing from our remains

In winter, Klimaatdichters formed the word laat/let with dead branches in the Doode Bemde nature reserve in Heverlee (BE). The poem laat/let was written by Saskia Stehouwer and Meliza de Vries. Translation: Margot Delaet, photo: David Martens.

The spring word alles/everything was laid out in flower bulbs by pupils from the Lubbeek primary school (BE). The authors of the poem laat alles/let everything are Will Kranendonk and Daniëlle Zawadi. Translation: Margot Delaet, photo: Sebastian Schaevers.

let everything

it is a different breathing
in a garden
in the winter

I listen without violence
to a a
woman’s voice entwined
with heather

my message rests in the rings of your eyes

didn’t I tell you that sage does not lose
her leaves
carried your body to sea
listened to your voice
always more hoarse
when you asked the spirits of the land for forgiveness

see the pressed nasturtium leaves
the seeds that lay in my garden

let everything here

the evening falls
harder and harder

the rattling movements of the poplar
the slow strokes of the rustling grasses
the sway of full racemes of golden rain
betray their nature

let everything now it is time

to lie fallow
to let be the land

if we lay down our bodies with conviction we will have no more uranium thoughts

the evening still breathing

let everything here be now let it
prevail sparingly

the green might recognize us as we are matter vibration and heartbeat

In summer, Klimaatdichters together with climate organizations, scientists and scouts, formed the word hier/here with shells in Vrouwenpolder, Zeeland (NL). The poem laat alles hier/let everything here was written by Margot Delaet and Nisrine Mbarki. Translation: Margot Delaet, video: Sebastian Schaevers.

In autumn, a large group of Klimaatdichters, concerned citizens and activists went to Hobokense Polder, where they used fallen leaves to create the last word, aarden/be grounded, completing the sentence. Charlotte Van den Broek and Sara Eelen wrote the last poem, laat alles hier aarden/let everything be grounded here. Translation: Margot Delaet, photo: Sebastian Schaevers.

Let everything here be grounded

you’re no longer sleeping
now that foliage thickens the trees
with dense matte leaves
they’re not falling, ochre-colored

you wake up tired
and dreamlike during the day
a wild tapir appears
in the middle of the silvery sedge
and the gale’s soft pink
deceives the cloudy heath

the landscape grubs
overfertilized, depraved
with pieces of polygenetic glitz, you see
the eclosion of wood whites and wall browns
and tomorrow frost is forecast

the last young runs
into the open field in broad daylight
too late

you let your eyes close
waiting for sleep, the familiarity
of leaves changing color

Disclaimer:

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.