Grumbling Earth and Wailing Trees: Ecological Grief and Ecophobia in Wazir Agha’s Selected Poems

Abstract

Ecological Grief and Ecophobia are the terms widely used in contemporary discussion related to the impacts of climate change and environmental issues on mental and psychological health and pose a serious threat of ecological crises and environmental collapse Ecological Grief refers to a sense of loss or mourning of loss that stems from the experience or knowledge climate change, global warming, pollution, environmental degradation, disaster of nature and ecological devastation. Ecophobia refers to mans feelings of helplessness and powerlessness to ward off environmental catastrophe and ecological crises. This study finds Ecological Grief and Ecophobia in Wazir Aghas poems Her Enemies, The Beckoning Wind, Persuasion and Lets Remove the Crust of Brown Earth. In these poems, earth is grumbling, trees are wailing and other objects of nature are crying to warn man of the impeding threat of serious environmental catastrophe and ecological crises. These poems echo with growing environmental consciousness and are replete with stress, anxiety, uncertainty and fear caused by these environmental and ecological concerns. Moreover, it found that this Ecological Grief and Ecophobia may turn into a practical force that prompts man to some action in order to channel worry, fear and uncertainty into some kind of resilience or to make him learn to develop some skills to live with that fear, grief and phobia if these problems do not seem to be uprooted in near future.