Sometimes poetry arrives at exactly the right moment.
Lately, it has felt difficult to escape the weight of the world. The news cycle moves quickly. Wildfire smoke drifts across regions hundreds or thousands of miles from where the fires burn. Social media encourages us to react to everything all at once. It can be hard to slow down long enough to notice what is directly in front of us.
That’s one reason I was drawn to two poems from Tiger Moth Review Issue 16: Judith Yarrow’s “Resolutions for Today” and Harilaos Stefanakis’s “They call it development.” Though the poems approach environmental themes from different directions, both ultimately ask readers to consider balance—between attention and distraction, growth and preservation, action and restraint.
“Resolutions for Today” by Judith Yarrow
It is hard to slow down. To take notice of the little things. It can be equally hard to find the light peeking through when there is so much sorrow—or, lately, wildfire smoke—lingering in the air.
Judith Yarrow’s “Resolutions for Today” reminds us to slow down and appreciate what we overlook every day or to see it from a new perspective, letting in all the pinpricks of light from “sunset glory, / sliver of moon, / even dim gray.” The poem’s short lines reinforce this mindfulness, slowing the reader down and drawing attention to each image. Through scent, sound, and sight, Yarrow encourages us to pause and remain open to wonder in the present moment.
This is a reminder we all need right now. Not to simply look on the sunny side, but to remain open to the little things that can make life better.
“They call it development” by Harilaos Stefanakis
Manifest destiny. Improvements. Development. It is hard to believe that where cities now stand there were forests, wetlands, and wild places. Even today, we continue to see “progress” take the form of new developments as fields give way to subdivisions and forests slowly retreat while cities continue to expand.
Harilaos Stefanakis captures this brilliantly in “They call it development,” examining the cost of that expansion. The poem’s speaker reflects on once believing that growth meant strength, only to realize too late that it was really a hunger—one recognized when “[…] the shade trees were gone / and the ground would not / hold the rain.” Yet the poem refuses easy answers. The speaker’s desire to stop further development leads to a final question: “Is that also a danger?” In doing so, Stefanakis explores not only what is lost in the name of progress, but also the difficult balance between preservation and change.
Everything in Moderation
What I appreciate most about reading these poems together is the conversation they create.
Yarrow’s poem asks us to pay closer attention. Stefanakis’s poem asks us to consider the consequences of our choices. Both suggest that extremes carry risks. Too much distraction and we lose sight of wonder. Too much unchecked growth and we lose what made a place worth inhabiting in the first place.
A reminder that in life… it really is all about balance, isn’t it?
And to quote my favorite bean aficionado, Liam: “Everything in moderation.”
Sometimes wisdom arrives in poems. Sometimes it arrives from the smallest voices in our lives. Every now and then, they end up saying the same thing.
