I
Growth proliferates — demanding
degrading, derailing, deficient
destroying, degenerating, detonating
demineralising
depressing.
Degrowth devolves — deconstructs
decentralises, deinstitutionalises, decolonises
dematerialises, demilitarises and
decommodifies.
Degrowth defuses
and designs.
Decide destination degrowth.
II
fast
slow
slower
very slow
per-fect-ly
slow
passionately
s…l…o… w
III
momentarily
as individuals
singly
together, as a
group
collectively
as a community
communally
glocally
universally
infinitely
IV
No gladiators. No
meteors. We ignore
spectacle.
Earth’s hot molten
fire burned us
into existence.
We birthed underground
as termites turning
worming and
taking flight.
We are the untamed
heart of paradise.
Rain flows through
our veins, winds
expand, and escape
from, our lungs.
We tend and eat plants.
We are the compost
fertilising the future.
Poem written by Anitra Nelson for the 9th International Degrowth Conference, Zagreb, August–September 2023.
