Apala Banerjee is a 10th grader who loves to garden and play the violin. She grew up enjoying the natural world, delighting in the change of seasons, and drawing inspiration from wildlife and flora. When she learned about the threats to the environment caused by pollution and habitat loss, she (like many young people) felt that her voice needed to be heard as she raised awareness of impending environmental disasters. HARMONY: Saga of the Earth is a collection of 30 poems in which the young poet states a case for the protection of our planet: A call to action before things have gone too far.
These are simple, urgent poems. They frequently use tight rhymes and carefully-structured phrases. At their best they express a sense of wonder, of childlike glee, for the grace and beauty of the natural world. There are celebratory poems like “Cool Cocoa” or “Ode To Fruits,” in which the poet sings the praises of nature’s gifts. There are also more didactic works—such as “Web of Life,” which keeps up a somewhat more sophisticated tempo right from its opening verse: “Biodiversity is truly a blessing / but it’s a stress environmental factor that needs addressing / We are threatening the Earth’s vast spectrum / and one by one, all the species might succumb.”
Some poems are bleakly precise. “In A Blink: Extinct” charts the destruction of dodos, Baiji white dolphins, and Tasmanian tigers at the hands of man. It offers a matter-of-fact plea for future care and restraint before more creatures disappear. “Smog, Soot and Sulphuric Acid” opens with no-nonsense verse: “Air pollution is a big environmental issue / and while we sneeze into our masks and pull out a tissue / We still produce over 60 million tonnes of polluted air each year / and the lack of good air quality becomes increasingly severe.”
At the end, after a heartfelt plea for peace in a pair of poems that look at the war in Ukraine, there is a ray of light. Banerjee celebrates the moments when mankind managed to do the right thing, and sees them as reasons to believe that all is not yet lost. As she writes, “The Earth needs help, it cannot be denied / but out of all of the methods we’ve tried / the best one against the darkness quickly approaching / is simply not giving up, but instead hoping.”
With all of the proceeds from the book going to environmental charities, Apala Banerjee has stepped up to action with these charming poems and drawings. HARMONY: Saga of the Earth lets readers hear the worries of the younger generation as they see their future being wrecked. Important words from a promising young poet.
~Kent Lane for IndieReader