Recently both the smoke-filled skies and the news, with all its climate doom and gloom and intellectual discourse on technological and scientific solutions, has been getting me down. I needed some inspiration to uplift my spirits and keep me going. Lucky for me, along came Dolly Parton, and her song, World on Fire, which she sang at the ACM Awards. “Fire, fire burning higher, still got time to turn it all around.”

I immediately perked up. She was powerfully naming what’s going on and that we need to act urgently. Listening to her reminded me that when I’m heading towards despair, I typically turn to songs and poems to feed my soul. They always help me connect with my heart and something larger than myself. They refresh my awareness of myself and the world and open me up to new possibilities. In some way they remind me I’m not alone. Someone else understands what I’m experiencing and that brings me comfort and courage to keep on working on what’s being asked of me (and all of us) to help turn the tide on climate.

Poems and songs (which I see as poems set to music) help us see what is real, speak to what we need, and change our relationship with the world around us. Jane Hirshfield, poet and climate advocate, in her conversation with Ezra Klein on his podcast show, says, “Poetry is the attempt to understand fully what is real, what is present, what is imaginable, what is feelable, and how can I loosen the grip of what I already know to find some new, changed relationship.”

They also offer something special that is often missing in the news. Carol Ann Duffy, a poet who curated 20 poems on climate change, recognized this when she said, “ What’s missing for the (climate) reader is often an emotional or aesthetic connection.” Songs similarly “entertain, connect us to one another and help us express something in a way that other media do not,” as Ijeoma Nwatu says in her article on climate songs.

Michelle Nicola, who teaches 7th graders about poetry, climate change, and sacred spaces, would agree. She says, “I want my students to understand the very real threat human actions pose to our planet, and I also want to give them tools that will help them be brave — instead of paralyzed — when fear arises. I want them to talk about places that are sacred to them so that they may better understand places that are sacred to others, and better connect with this critical problem we call climate change.”

Thus, poems and songs not only uplift us, but can also help us address the climate crisis. Sam Illingworth, who also writes about poetry and the climate crisis, says, “Poetry has a profound ability to help reframe global issues, taking obscure concepts and couching them in language that is both intimate and familiar…. I have used poetry to interpret the complex principles of climate change science and help inspire environmental action. For others who are keen to do the same, reading (and recommending) poetry is the perfect place to help start localizing the issue.

Furthermore, they might even help humanize the issue. AsTreehouse Investments, a group that invests in sustainable business models and poetry for climate change, writes, “A good poem reminds us of our shared humanity. A good poem will string words together like pearls and connect us, shock us out of our usual tropes. A good poem reminds us of everything we share and everything we put at risk.”

Together poems and songs ultimately help us love the world, which in the end, as Jane Hirschfield says in her interview with Ezra Klein, will help us save it. “We will not save this Earth and all the beings upon it because it’s a good idea. We will save this Earth and its beings because we love them.”

When we are connected to our hearts, we are naturally encouraged and moved to preserve the world around us and face our role in both its demise and survival.

So, without further ado, I’ll share some poems and songs to uplift, inspire, and move us to act on climate. I have done my best to group them into categories: the beauty of nature, speaking to the climate crisis, and protests. All pieces listed link to the full poem or song. Some are videos, some are audio, and some written. Dive into those on the list that intrigue you and pull at your heart, then try out ones you don’t know. There are some powerful songs on the list from artists to which I don’t typically listen.