Following her participation in Joe Biden’s inauguration as President of the United States, Amanda G. was reborn as one of the most notable young voices of the century. But it was long before this political act that Amanda Gorman stood out from the crowds, thanks to her imperious poem Earthrise.
We have learned throughout human history that words go a long way. On some occasions the characters who recite them draw on their strength and clarity to move masses, whether positively or negatively.
It is up to each of us to know which current to move towards and which discourses to absorb and which not. After all, this is how civilization has been formed; From big words we decided to transform and act.
The poem Earthrise that Amanda Gorman wrote is part of The Climate Reality Project initiative. This organization is responsible for disseminating information to raise awareness and encourage action on it (absorb and act).
The basic acts of being human remain, in essence, the same: we listen, we speak, we shout, we eat, we move, etc. However, the only ability that defines us from other beings is that we can speak and think beyond what we observe.
This poem is exactly a tribute to the most unique thing about human beings: the ability to see and understand beyond their surroundings. Through observation of an image of Earth taken in 1968 by Apollo 8, Gorman delivers a moving recitation about the incredible world we call “home.”
Earthrise, poem by Amanda Gorman:
Earthrise Text
On Christmas Eve 1968, astronaut Bill Anders
took a photo of the earth
while Apollo 8 orbited the moon.
Those three boys
surprised
seeing from your eyes
Our planet seemed like an exit from the earth
A blue orb floating above the gray horizon of the moon,
with deep oceans and silver skies.
It was our world’s first glimpse of itself.
Our first chance to see a shared reality,
A declared position and a common point;
A look in the mirror of our planet,
And as the threats grew closer,
Our own urgency became clearer,
As we realize that we have nothing more dear
than this floating body that we all call home.
We have known
that we are caught in the middle
of climate change, some say that
will disappear,
while others simply pray
to survive another day;
Because they are the dark ones, the oppressed, the poor,
Who when the disaster
is declared done,
They still suffer more than anyone else.
He is the greatest challenge of our time,
Of this, you are certainly aware.
It’s sad, but I can’t avoid them
know an inconvenient fact, because
It is clarifying the facts that makes us act and not wait.
So I tell you this not to scare you,
but to prepare you, to challenge you
to dream a different reality,
Where despite the disparities
We all care about protecting this world,
This riddled blue marble, this little true wonder
To gather enthusiasm and courage
To see how we can serve
Our planet. You don’t need to be a politician
So that your mission is to conserve, protect,
To preserve that only home
which is ours,
To use your unique power
To give the next generations the planet they deserve.
We are demonstrating, creating, defending.
We pay attention to this uncomfortable truth, because we need to be anything but forgiving.
with the future of our youth.
And while this is training,
to sustain the future of our planet,
there is no rehearsal. The time is
Now
Now
Now,
Because the damage reversal,
and the protection of such a universal future
There should be nothing but controversial.
So, earth, pale blue dot
We will not fail you.
Just like we choose to go to the moon
We know it’s never too early
To choose hope.
We choose to do more than cope
climate change
We choose to end it:
We refuse to lose.
Together we do this and more
Not because it is very easy or pleasant
but because it is necessary,
because with each dawn we carry
the weight of the destiny of this celestial body that orbits a star.
And as heavy as that weight sounded, it doesn’t hold us back,
but it keeps us on the ground, firm, ready,
because an environmental movement of this size
It is simply another form of an upheaval of the land.
To see it, close your eyes.
Visualize that all of us, the leaders in this room
and outside these walls or in the hallways, all the
Change makers we are in a spaceship,
floating like a silver raft
in space, and we see the face of our planet again.
We enjoyed the view;
We witness its round green and bright blue, which
that inspires us to ask ourselves deeply and totally:
What can we do?
Open your eyes.
Know that the future of
this wise planet is
in sight:
right in all of us. Trust in
this upheaval of the earth.
We all bring light to exciting, never-tried solutions.
Because it is our hope that implores us, in our intransigent core,
Keep standing up for a land worth fighting for.