Creation Song: A Poem by Endangered Wildlife Artist, Anthony E. Lovell
Australian-International Poet Anthony E. Lovell Champions Social & Environmental Change Through Art
Australian-International poet Anthony E. Lovell is making a significant impact with his creative work dedicated to critically endangered wildlife. As part of the “Arts for the Future” Festival, he has crafted an exclusive new poem titled “Creation Song” to celebrate “The Role of the Artist” in global sustainability discourse.
Lovell performed “Creation Song” to a captivated audience, closing Scarlet Red Magazine’s online event “Creative Voices,” which coincided with the United Nations Summit of the Future (UNGA) and Climate Week NYC (2024).
In this evocative poem, Lovell draws a tender analogy between a little bird that wakes him each morning and the melody that stirs his own creativity. He emphasizes that creativity is an integral and unavoidable compulsion for artists — one that must be expressed regardless of circumstance. This creative drive, he asserts, can be harnessed as a powerful force for good, advancing crucial social and environmental causes.
Artists possess a unique ability to be agents of change, using their voices and mediums to contribute to the pursuit of a more sustainable and equitable world. Here’s how their influence manifests:
Awareness Raising: Artists effectively use their work to shine a spotlight on pressing social and environmental issues, educating the public and instilling a sense of urgency.
Cultural Reflection: Through their art, they mirror societal values and challenges, prompting audiences to engage critically with topics related to sustainability and social justice.
Visionary Leadership: Artists often act as visionaries, imagining and illustrating alternate futures that inspire collective action towards change.
Community Engagement: They foster dialogue and collaboration within local communities, using art as a medium to mobilize efforts around sustainability.
Activism: Many artists actively participate in social movements, using their work to protest injustices, advocate for change, and amplify marginalized voices.
Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: Art partnerships with scientists, activists, and policymakers can clarify complex environmental issues and broaden audience engagement.
Cultural Preservation: Artists play a critical role in highlighting and preserving traditional knowledge and practices that support sustainable practices across diverse cultures.
Emotional Connection: Art evokes emotions and cultivates empathy, making complex issues more accessible and motivating individuals to contribute to positive change.
Innovative Solutions: By blending art, technology, and science, artists produce creative and innovative solutions to sustainability challenges that are both engaging and effective.
Global Discourse: Participating in international art exhibitions and forums, artists influence global conversations surrounding sustainability and social equity.
Through his work, Anthony E. Lovell exemplifies how poetry and art can ignite meaningful discussions and inspire action for the planet's most urgent challenges. His own dedication to endangered wildlife is a testament to the transformative power of creativity in the quest for a sustainable future.
“What can one person do? I often think that one person can affect one person, and then some others, and then a lot of people. If a lot of artists get these messages out there, then we can create a ripple effect, spread the word and get more and more people on board.”
“Creation Song”
Why do you wake me so early
Bird out on a limb, still dark
Hardly any of dawn's first streaks
Who do you sing for, no one is moving
A solo voice - until gradually others join in
The dawn chorus becomes a din
Do you sing for beauty, sing for glory
Not yet, not so early - too dim
Other inspiration is afoot, breathe in
Have life - must sing, like no one is listening
Ah, so there it is, just for self, just because
You can not not do it, compulsive creative
As a bird on a limb or on the wing
Creation makes the heart sing
Why do we pick up a pen, a brush
A pencil, a stylus perhaps
Start tapping on those keys
Blank paper, blank board, blank screen
Subjective inspiration kicks in
Sketchy maybe at the start
Creativity is about to spark
Creativity is ‘The Real Thing,’ Russell
Creation makes the heart sing
Don't catch the fluttering butterfly flitting by
Where they go, you’ll never know - run with it
Let’s play follow the leader – go with it
A word, an image, a fleeting thought
Why do you hear a melody come through?
A sound, a song, a title, by the creator grasped
Spin a coin, makes two sides one an animate one
Blending into something new, another dimension
A random thought that goes critical
Any kind of knock can open the door
The floodgate unmitigated - let's flow
Pour it out for an audience, visual art viewers
But not first thing, only after self-indulging
Creation makes the heart sing
It's not just smelling the beauty of the roses
Seeing clearly the first scent of the dawn
Hearing the first light paint the landscape
Savouring the early morning birdsong
Touching the melodies, oncoming soundwaves
We don't live in an artist's Retreat, sanctified
We can’t unsee the good, the bad and the ugly
Can't escape the injustice and the cruelty
Of those out of touch with the creativity
Step into the outside world and be mired
The daily struggles, the lifestyle not admired
The noise, the dust in the wind swirling
Smoke not limited to the water, encircling
The world turning, so many places burning
Smotherer of that creative spark, sputtering
Would go out, but change the fuel - igniting
Passions inflamed, justice infamed - infuriating
Take a deep breath, hold it in, control it
Channel it into a potent pilot flame
Flame on as necessary, provide heat
Shed light, tell the stories, illuminating
Move those bodies, rhythmically - or not
Inspiration has its agent provocateur
Whatever can be sensed by the five
Can wake sensibilities, pique interest
Recruit to a cause, provoke a response
Form an opinion, forge a resolve
Start those conversations made visual
Sense those stories made visceral
Call to justice and equity and sustainability
Make a Festival out of it, artistic impressions
Impassioned creators creating for mind-shifting
Urge the world to unite for a civil society
Join in the festivities, ‘Make Art...
Not’… a list of unmentionable things
Except to drown them out, diluting
With a flood of narrative shape-shifting
Play with fire - fire off those synapses
A narrative to affect a narrative effect
Change that storyline and trajectory
Continuity of life on Earth a necessity
Humankind should not the least be kind
Not to just itself, ourselves, but to Nature
Original creator, inspirer of creativity
Original sustainer, irreplaceable for that continuity
Art for Earth's sake means for the sake of all
Draw it, paint it, sculpt it, turn it into melody
Update 'Imagine' to a new song anticipating
Generational singers to say all kinds of things
Some lovestruck, soothing, or ‘Get up!’ Energising
Some with a sting for things that need ending
Run the gamut of emotions, creators gambit
Send it out on sound waves, capture light on film
Capture building blocks of a scene, manipulate pixels
Essential for the sensual representation, any medium
Can get those early birds singing again
Keep them coming back at early morn
Join the early morning chorus, familiar ring
Who needs an alarm, not the least bit alarming
Creative collective, meaning movement spreading
Creation for creators own sake
Creation lets the heart be heard and seen
Creation makes the heart sing…
Then they share it, all about
And so they sing each morning
Calling us to start the day right
Even those owls of the night
Whatever the Charming Hour
Inviting us to join in creating
For the sake of creation
I don’t need you to tell me
How you get your inspiration
A little bird told me…
Every day at dawn
Discover Anthony E. Lovells poems at The One Million Poetry