Source:
Marvell, Andrew.The Poems of Andrew Marvell.
G. A. Aitken, Ed. London: Lawrence & Bullen, 1892.43-44. 17th Century poet Andrew Marvell, a17th Century English poet was a master of descriptive, picture painting
poetry.
His
Poem 'A Dialogue Between the Soul and
Body' is analogous to the situation that we find ourselves in today with Global Warming. This poem is about a body fighting to regain it's good health, but trapped inside is a soul longing to escape.
He says: "A soul hung up, as 'twere, in chains, Of nerves, and arteries, and veins". He is describing the
agony the soul is going through, being enchained in a body that will not die and allow it to go back to it's creator. Not only does it have to endure the sin and diseases but also the cures.
"And ready, oft the port to gain, am shipwrecked into health again".
Is this the plight of the
earth? Has it been trying to rid itself of the disease of
mankind? Bring itself back to the pristine beauty it once was? The only defense the earth has is
floods, drought, heat and ice. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised at the present Global Warming events, but rather accept it as our fate for being a blight on the face of a beautiful earth. The earth has been writhing in agony for millions of years, trying to fight back with earthquakes, floods and droughts and still mankind continues to torture her with pollution, desecrating the forests and butchering the wildlife into extinction.
Just as we use anti-biotics to cure the body of disease, so the earth is using it's forces to do the same.
The complete poem can be found on www.luminarium.org
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