10-year-old Award-winning Poet Shares Her Thoughts This Earth Day 2022
At Broke-Ass Stuart, we value the unique perspectives of everyone in The Bay Area. This Earth Day, we asked a local award-winning poet to write about their muse, Mother Earth. This poet is Rhiannon Hewitt(R), age 10. We asked her to talk about the impact she felt the last 2 years had on the Earth but also on kids like her.
Earth Day is today, April 22nd. According to some, Covid-times gave the Earth a temporary reprieve from greenhouse gasses. As we go back to “normal”, there are ways we can help our planet. First, we can speak up about the changes we must make or talk about the negative impact we can have on the planet.
Hewitt is nestled in the ferns – photo from Of Water documentary
We all have gone through hell these past two years but being a kid was especially hard. Seeing the world flip upside down with very little control as to how to move forward. During the pandemic, R noticed that, while we were being pushed and pulled around, Mother Earth was showing some signs of healing but there was still chaos all around us.
I write because I want Earth to be heard. Humans are too interlocked in their own affairs. I want to speak up and continue to speak up until we can all do a little more to help the environment.
Hewitt at the banks of a river – photo from Of Waters documentary
As a tribute to Mother Earth, Hewitt wanted to share this piece with you all which hopefully will inspire you this Earth Day 2022.
Stop. Start. Stop.
by Rhiannon Hewitt – age 10
It started when it stopped.
A gut wrenching stop.
A teeth chattering stop.
An unorganized stop.
Math Club
early morning
pencils
fruit bowl
kiwi.
Seed explosion
juice down the chin
slurps of delight.
Uncovering the mysteries of the dreaded triangle.
Isosceles.
The two square roots are equal to the remaining
STOP
School Play
clicking heels
red faced chimney sweeps dancing
toes tapping
happy directors.
The new dance will be
STOP
Music Lessons
ukulele
made up songs
joyful faces
frustrated teacher.
You are my C chord my only C chord
You make me happy when
STOP
Class Room
Muffled answers
giggling
Best Friend
STOP
Beach
running through grass
nicked shins
don’t care.
Toes in wet sand water so beautiful that
STOP
In the stores
no toilet paper carts overflowing
long lines
competitive shoppers.
Computers arrived
awkward contact on screens
but contact nonetheless
Alone
In my room
Alone.
Birthday
People in cars
Trumpet
crazy notes
posters.
Wave.
Wave.
Wave.
Hiking
Screens
kickboxing.
See friends!
From six feet.
Yells of conversation.
A masked distance.
Booms of musicals
stuffed animals thrown.
Howls in the dark
eight o’clock
STOP.
STOP.
STOP.
Cars.
No more cacophony of motors.
Collecting dust.
START
Earth
gathering the silence like rare jewels.
In return,
gifts of clean air.
Clean water.
Endangered animals have room to roam.
START
Whales singing
across the oceans
secrets in the darkness,
with no ship engines to intrude.
START
For the first time in a long while
Earth blinks and begins to heal.
START
Fires.
Huddling in the dark.
Orange sky.
Blazes raging.
Choking smoke.
It is real.
It is.
START
Headlines screaming injustice.
Only grains of sand on a beach.
There are so many more.
Say Their Names.
Do you still?
START
School again.
Friends in real life.
Made first on screens.
Shorter than expected.
Want to go everywhere.
Traffic.
Existential Crisis.
People Everywhere.
Too much.
Masked still.
It is not the same.
Open Alien World.
Again.
Planes
Factories
Interrupting ships
Plastics
More.
Earth closes her eyes.
Maybe
She will open them once more
If we can change a little, every day and
STOP
STOP
STOP
image from Of Water documentary, featuring Hewitt.
About R:
My name is Rhiannon Hewitt. I have been composing poems since I was two years old. When I was five, I performed a poem about ocean acidification in front of my school. At seven years old I performed at the Masonic with Patti Smith, Jesse Paris Smith and Rebecca Foon as part of their Pathway to Paris event. Since then I have spoken at climate marches for Extinction Rebellion. In 2019 I was the second-grade winner of the Coastal Art and Poetry contest with the California Coastal Commission.
Last spring I filmed a short movie with my parents, Vita and Bryan Hewitt at the Smith River, which is the last undammed river in California. I got to work with artist Lauren Jade Szabo (I call her Lauren of the sunset) and dancer Lauren Godla (Lauren of the sunrise). In it, I wrote two poems as if I were the river. The film is called “Of Water”.
Of Water 4K teaser from Bryan Hewitt on Vimeo.
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