A. R Ammons Cascadilla Falls

In the poem “Cascadilla Falls” by A. R. Ammons the poet writes about an evening where the narrator visited a stream below the falls. Although, man’s role in nature has always been questioned, humans have always been the center with the universe revolving around us. In the poem, Ammons makes a strong statement against humanism by relating natural occurrences in nature to human beings. The universe is a vast place with endless possibilities and we live on planet that is teeming with life. Humans, however, have taken over this world and view other life forms as inferior and abuse nature for resources. In the poem, Ammons brings some reasons for this to light. In the first few lines of the poem, Ammons describes the narrator’s first interaction

The narrator thinks about the rock and the connections it has to the rest of the world and the universe. Those same motions that went into the rock are the same motions that went into human beings. This thought begins to overwhelm the narrator in the next few lines: “thought all the interweaving / motions / into myself: dropped / the stone to dead rest:” (Ammons 18-21). The narrator drops the stone after the last thought because it became too much for him to comprehend. A lot of people tend to shy away from the thought of space and the unknown causing us to focus on what we need and not what is best for the world. Even the smallest things we do to the environment can cause a change which can later become bigger problems in life. In the next few lines, Ammons shows that even something as simple as dropping a rock can disrupt nature: “the stream from other motions / broke / rushing over it: / shelterless“ (Ammons 22-25). When the narrator dropped the rock he had caused the stream to engulf the rock. Nature is very unforgiving and if we destroy it to the point where the world is unable to sustain life, then nature will find a way and continue on as if we were never

The humanism view can cause us to only focus on what is important in our lives here and now. There will be a future, and Ammons makes it apparent that we need to stop being so focused on ourselves because in the end it will save not only human beings, but the planet.