The Fierce Humanism of Amanda Gorman's "Earthrise"

The best Humanist poem ever was written by a black Catholic

In January 2021, poet Amanda Gorman became the youngest person ever to read at a presidential inauguration in the USA. Her poem “The Hill We Climb” became an immediate sensation, and propelled her books of poetry to the best-seller lists. But my favorite poem of Gorman’s is not “The Hill We Climb” (although it is awesome) but an earlier work, “Earthrise”. You can watch it here.

“Earthrise” is, I think, the finest Humanist poem ever written - and it was written by a black Catholic. It is utterly redolent with humanistic themes. Here’s the text:

Our Purpose in Poetry:
Or, Earthrise, by Amanda Gorman

On Christmas Eve, 1968, astronaut Bill Anders 
Snapped a photo of the earth
As Apollo 8 orbited the moon.
Those three guys 
Were surprised
To see from their eyes
Our planet looked like an earthrise
A blue orb hovering over the moon’s gray horizon, 
with deep oceans and silver skies. 

It was our world’s first glance at itself 
Our first chance to see a shared reality, 
A declared stance and a commonality; 

A glimpse into our planet’s mirror,
And as threats drew nearer,
Our own urgency became clearer,
As we realize that we hold nothing dearer 
than this floating body we all call home. 

We’ve known
That we’re caught in the throes
Of climactic changes some say
Will just go away,
While some simply pray
To survive another day;
For it is the obscure, the oppressed, the poor, 
Who when the disaster
Is declared done,
Still suffer more than anyone. 

Climate change is the single greatest challenge of our time, 

Of this, you’re certainly aware.
It’s saddening, but I cannot spare you
From knowing an inconvenient fact, because
It’s getting the facts straight that gets us to act and not to wait. 

So I tell you this not to scare you, 
But to prepare you, to dare you 
To dream a different reality, 

Where despite disparities
We all care to protect this world,
This riddled blue marble, this little true marvel 
To muster the verve and the nerve
To see how we can serve
Our planet. You don’t need to be a politician
To make it your mission to conserve, to protect, 
To preserve that one and only home
That is ours,
To use your unique power
To give next generations the planet they deserve. 

We are demonstrating, creating, advocating 
We heed this inconvenient truth, because we need to be anything but lenient
With the future of our youth. 

And while this is a training,
in sustaining the future of our planet, 
There is no rehearsal. The time is 
Now
Now
Now, 
Because the reversal of harm,
And protection of a future so universal 
Should be anything but controversial. 

So, earth, pale blue dot 
We will fail you not. 

Just as we chose to go to the moon 
We know it’s never too soon
To choose hope.
We choose to do more than cope 
With climate change 
We choose to end it—
We refuse to lose.
Together we do this and more
Not because it’s very easy or nice
But because it is necessary,
Because with every dawn we carry
the weight of the fate of this celestial body orbiting a star. 
And as heavy as that weight sounded, it doesn’t hold us down, 
But it keeps us grounded, steady, ready, 
Because an environmental movement of this size 
Is simply another form of an earthrise. 

To see it, close your eyes.
Visualize that all of us leaders in this room
and outside of these walls or in the halls, all
of us changemakers are in a spacecraft,
Floating like a silver raft
in space, and we see the face of our planet anew.
We relish the view;
We witness its round green and brilliant blue,
Which inspires us to ask deeply, wholly:
What can we do?
Open your eyes.
Know that the future of
this wise planet
Lies right in sight:
Right in all of us. Trust
this earth uprising.
All of us bring light to exciting solutions never tried before
For it is our hope that implores us, at our uncompromising core, 
To keep rising up for an earth more than worth fighting for. 

First, look at the first part of the title: “Our Purpose in Poetry”. The poem seeks to outline the purpose of human beings. And what is that purpose, according to Gorman? “[S]ustaining the future of our planet”, and “protection of a future”. We are charged with cherishing this earth and passing it on to our descendants, which is ultimately the central concern of humanism (for without a planet there can be no human life).

Second, note how the poem uses the image of the earth from the moon as a call to our common humanity: It was our world’s first glance at itself / Our first chance to see a shared reality, / A declared stance and a commonality”. The vision of the world as a single global community - and even the use of the images of the earth from space to reinforce that vision - is a Humanist trope which has existed since those images were first created.

Indeed, the entire poem is suffused with what I think of as the “Carl Sagan aesthetic”. Sagan - legendary Humanist scientist and science educator - repeatedly spoke about the earth and our place in the universe using an elevated aesthetic tone. He combined a scientific understanding of the world with a sense of reverence and wonder that had a spiritual quality to it - and this poem feels the same. The poem is filled with imagery about the preciousness of the earth amidst the cosmos: it is a “blue orb hovering over the moon’s gray horizon”, a “little true marvel” of “round green and brilliant blue” which deserves our love, respect, and protection. Some of the language even references Sagan’s work: the term “pale blue dot” is his, and the title of one of his books.

Finally, Gorman specifically calls for action. She repudiates those who believe the “climactic changes” we face “will just go away”, instead calling for a global movement - in the most stunning wordplay of the poem, an “earthrise” - to “bring light to exciting solutions never tried before”. Her stance is hopeful, but realistic: we have to understand the facts - because “It’s getting the facts straight that gets us to act” - but if we accept the facts then there is hope - “earth, pale blue dot / We will fail you not.”

With these elements, Gorman has created the perfect Humanist poem. “Earthrise” is human-focused, attunes us to our common humanity, uses resonant Humanist imagery, and calls us to action on behalf of all humankind. It’s epic, inspiring, and gorgeous. Stunning.