Reflections on State of the Planet

I will admit, I love this poem. I could literally close my eyes and see images of the beauty the author wrote about. He used beautiful grammar and engaged my attention.
There is a particular line that stood out to me "poetry should be able to comprehend the earth", I don't know if I agree with this statement. I do not know if mere words can fully comprehend the beauty the Lord has crafted together. Words all to often fall short, but I can push back and say poetry is our attempt to comprehend the earth.

After reading this poem I was inspired to write a few lines of my own.
There is beauty found in the wind, in the sun and even in the shadows
His reflection can be seen in the sky and in the ripples of the water
The deer pants for such and the trees begin their howls
We the clay and He, the ultimate potter


This man he spoke of, was a roman poet. I imagine that his poetry was the inspiration for our author Robert Hass. He spoke of Venus and things I have never seen but I imagined what such beauty could look like.

The way Robert Hass ends this poem is with more of a reflection on what he is saying. The beginning of the poem is an introduction to beauty and the end is looking back on this beauty and realizing that we will all face the sting of death. Is it really a sting or more and arriving of what is hoped for. For me death is not all that morbid. It is the returning to the place my heart longs for. I suppose that those I leave behind will miss me but the One who awaits me is the One I was created to one day see.

There was not a particular stanza or line that confused me, but the concept was an interesting one to me. I was not familiar with Lucretius's work and this poem was a reflection of his so I had to reread somethings over and over again to fully grasp the main idea.