Ambient - A Poem By Paul Vincent Cannon

Mahmoud Darwish (محمود درويش), The Butterfly’s Burden, Translated by Fady Joudah, Bloodaxe Books, Hexham, 2007

After The Rains - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: gardenersworld.com Herb garden “But there is one who holds this falling infinitely softly in His hands.” Rainer Maria Rilke After The RainsTodayI strolled the borderI stroked the herbsmottledblotched,old tanned skinstems all lanky,woodyaged,after the rainsI will stroke thenew soft shootstender as youth. Copyright 2025 ©️Paul Vincent CannonAll Rights Reserved ®️

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(via A Perfect Union - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon)

(via)

l quote: 2pac(Tupac Shakur)

Chou - haiku by Paul Vincent Cannon

Image by Steve Buissinne from Pixabay “The bite into the round jubilance of peach.” Li-Young Lee Chou Any name might doeight immortals of the fruit,exalted spring peach Copyright 2024 ©️Paul Vincent CannonAll Rights Reserved ®️ Not: the Chinese ideogram shou or Chou is based by shape on the pit of a peach.

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Ignorance Is Not An Ethical Stance - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: majorcadailybulletin.com cleaning up in Valencia. “If ignorance is bliss, why isn’t the world happier?” Mark Twain Ignorance Is Not An Ethical StanceMy, do you look completely silly in your denial,keep telling me all about your belief that theenvironment is doing fine and that all these turbulent, unprecedented, wild natural events are those one hundred year turns that yoursuperstitious,…

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Broken Mug - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: found at kitchenseer.com “… some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor.” Rumi Broken MugOnce,as it happenslike every thing happens,I broke a favourite muga sentimental grief,in remorse I clearedthe debris and chose a lesser mugmade some tea,then came feelingsself-blamegrief,failing to locate a blamespeaking itreleasing the uglymood of it thenlaughing at the investmentin a…

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What Can Be Said (Ontology's a Drag) - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Bjorn is hosting Meeting the Bar with an invitation to write a poem using an apophatic (αποφατικοζ) or negation approach – the not knowing, (as opposed to a cataphatic (καταφατικα) or positive approach – the knowing/affirming). For more detail follow the link below: dVerse Poets – MTB – Meet The Bar Positively Through Negation Image by Nick Kirtoki from Pixabay “The rose has no Why?…

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My Modern Met

Japan Has a Competitive Sport for Trash Collecting Called ‘SpoGomi'

There should be more sports like this!

Sports have gotten more and more environmentally friendly, whether it's by reducing plastic waste at arenas, or producing medals with recycled materials. But what if the sport itself was devoted to directly helping the planet? Take a look at SpoGomi, a competitive sport in which teams collect garbage and litter within a time limit and specified area. People get to exercise and improve their communities while simultaneously reducing pollution. It's an overall win!

The name “SpoGomi” comes from “sports” and “gomi,” which means “trash” in Japanese. SpoGomi was created in Japan in 2008 as a way to promote trash collecting in an effort to aid the environment and push back on the climate crisis. “The marine litter problem is becoming increasingly serious worldwide,” reads a message from SpoGomi. “Approximately 80% of the garbage in the ocean is said to come from land (cities), and picking up garbage is the ‘last line of defense' to prevent this from happening. By connecting countries and people, we have expanded our circle even further around the world.”

Now, supported by The Nippon Foundation, the sport is so popular that there are competitions around the world, including the first SpoGomi World Cup, which was held in Japan in November 2023. People from 20 countries and all of Japan's prefectures participated, with the UK team coming out in first place.

SpoGomi is more than simply picking up trash, though, as there's a whole set of rules. These game rules are flexible depending on the area and litter to be picked up. Generally, teams are made up of three to five members who have to collect as much trash as possible within a designated area and time limit. The most common duration is an hour for picking up trash plus another 20 minutes to correctly sort it.

Some trash can be extra damaging to the environment or harder to spot, meaning each piece of litter gets a different amount of points. According to Nippon.com, the rules for World Cup regional preliminary rounds have burnable and nonburnable trash at 10 points per 100 grams, cans and bottles at 12 points, and PET plastic bottles at 25 points. The crown jewel of competitive trash picking are cigarette butts, which will get the team 100 points each.

Other rules stipulate that teams cannot pick up trash that is already in bins that belong to someone else. Since everything must fit into the trash bags that are provided, they cannot pick hazardous waste or bulky items either. And since this is meant to improve the local area, any method of transportation other than walking is frowned upon.

In the end, all participants can bask in the pride of making the environment just a little bit cleaner and healthier. Udagawa Takayasu, a spokesperson for The Nippon Foundation, even admits, “I participated in a preliminary tournament held in Japan just last weekend. Although our team could not win and I faced frustration, the city became markedly cleaner. I think it's one of the fascinating aspects of SpoGomi, even if you don't win, it leaves you with a positive sentiment.”

-via My Modern Met, May 20, 2024

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Hell yeah, gamify this shit!

Collaborating The World - a poem By Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo by Jason Goodman on Unsplash “We shape ourself to fit this world and by this world are shaped again” David Whyte Collaborating The WorldWhy do we assumeassuming that you do,that it's everyone else,not I because "I"surely it would have to be themsome other,but the "I" -is it narcissistic or is it betweenlike in the middlenot closed in on the world of self,open to all…

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