MOA
2020 after calling cor langeveld
My doubts of studying were melt
On a plot of land then freshly landed
A bunch of seeds out hand sown planted
Yet the crisis of that time and day
Tried to keep those seeds away
From one another like in labs
Separated by some tabs
Through teams and zoom
Black screens all rooms
Collected in a call
Yet though shall
Not keep your plants like that
Blind for subtle interact – ion
Lines that run
Right through soils
Mycelium
Coils, and binds it all together
Learning throught computers
Through courses being tutored
About companion planting, guilds
While irony the room silently fills
Although this setup may have brought
Those from Utrecht or abroad
Practical convenience
I was delighted when remediant
Sparks of disobedience
Drew together those who needed it
Besides few excursions
And MOA cafés
In Forum I found them
Or at Ivo’s place
To Droevendaal seem to lead all ways
Or simply follow the smell
Of steaming hot plates
Chili oil, kombucha, sparkling mead
Crunchy home bakes bread
Or a dish composed of local veg
Brims overflow with high end dish
Food brings together
What MOA (and Wageningen) is
From its production, ecologically
Processing, marketing, policy
Awareness on consumption
With every path another junction
And, hopeful as one can be
I hope that in some harmony
We channel for earth a future
Be it from computer
Or from the fields
In offices or with our heels
Deep in stands of crops
Or networking hub
Researching, advising
Farming, organising
3 years now sprouted
With roots in the ground
I feel blessed to see yet
More vegetation around
I say: “grow on!”
And let your roots dive deep
May our mycelium creep
Through soils and dirt
Or through the skies
Like flight of bird
Yet, may we rise and
Like a thundercloud
Continue to connect
Through wires
And the underground
NUE
If you dont know the
Answer just choose B
Since it says Nitrogen Use Efficiency
And that one is C
Add chemical ghee
Or powdery substance to up
Production capacity
Surprisingly
Of human waste free
Are models while
In drinking water we pee
Nitrogen, phosphorous
Potassiun, see
How limited are
For a diet these three?
Re- cycle the flows
On a large scale may be
A problem but small
It is done easily
Thinking big,
Yet acting small
I’ll plant a tree I won’t see fall
It’s composed of two words tall
Stacked on one another: nut and wall
I shall not stall for all
We can do in life’s whim
Is to stir up our worlds
Let’s start with our words
Respelling the acronym
May NUE be a
Newly Uncovered Entity, whose
Name is Ushered Effortlessly, preventing
Non-sensical Use of Energy
I ponder by that tree
Napping Under its Every leaf
When suddenly it sinks; i think
Nature Unravels Everthing
For the day of my graduation as Master student -freshly selected as city poet- I wrote two poems in honour of all former co-students and the study program Master of Organic Agriculture (MOA) at Wageningen University. With a critical wink to the endless use of input-output models and their limitations to capture living systems.
Bob ter Haar
