The Privilege of Green

Once I walked
among dusty cars,

along crowded streets,
hemmed in by buildings

and a depression of sky.
I had the freedom,

the privilege to choose
green. Fields, trees

and lush leaves
are all that crowd me

now, and the sky, although not green,
stretches its hugeness to infinity.

Kim M. Russell, 18th February 2019

Distance

My response to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics: On Privilege, also linked to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Tuesday Platform

Anmol is our host today and he has shared a thought-provoking quote from Michael S. Kimmel to introduce his theme, ‘the elephant in the room: Privilege’. He says that, if the prompt makes some of us a bit uncomfortable, that is the idea. He has also made reference to poems by June Jordan, Michele Bombardier and Akhil Katyal.

Anmol says that the prompt today is quite open-ended and that we can approach the idea of privilege in different ways: by taking inspiration from the poets and poems he has shared with us; by reflecting on our own privileges; by writing about a cause which has personal meaning or significance for us, or about the privilege of writing and expression.

52 thoughts on “The Privilege of Green”

  3. i lived in a small village then by the sea in my childhood but had to leave when i went to university, the cities here are polluted and chaotic but i find I miss it when I am away too long. your countryside is gorgeous, one place on my bucket list this year. I am glad you are where your heart calls you to be and that it is a privilege you treasure

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  5. If one can chose their environment, that is a privilege indeed. As a kid in the 50’s, I used to read National Geographic, all about drought and famine and poverty, and I understood, even then, how privileged I was. I vowed to make the most out of my life. Some of it I achieved.

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  15. I like your privilege of loving green to which you (the writer) have ample access I think you didn’t enjoy nearly so much the infinite blue sky as you did the greens. In a previous life, two lives back, my escape was a green Vespa motorscooter. Several times I even took it into old Mexico for a day. Very much priveleged.
    ..

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  16. Ah, this is such a sweet interpretation of the prompt, Kim. It’s interesting how you consider it a privilege as you have experienced the other side of it as well. There can be so many areas of life where we can be humble and mindful about such small things. The greenery and the blue expanse are wonderful blessings indeed. It’s a lovely poem!

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  18. We take the simplest things for granted, not understanding that just having options is a privilege some don’t have. I love the sweet way this piece acknowledges a hard truth.

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  25. I love thinking of the sky in its “hugeness!” Love the title and how you move from the dusty to the vastness of the green and the sky. A wonderful take on the prompt, Kim.
    And I am smiling a bit on the side here too…..as the title reminded me of watching Sesame Street with my kids when they were little (they are now 42 and 44) and their loving Kermit the Frog singing about being green 🙂

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    1. That song, @Being green’ was written and originally performed by Van Morrison and now most people link it to Kermit. Sweet! Here’s a link to the original:

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