
Patti Smith
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Patti Smith's Latest Tribute To Greta Thunberg Is A Birthday Shout Out On Instagram
If you follow punk rock legend Patti Smith, you're likely aware of her fondness for Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg. The singer posted tributes to the teen throughout 2019, and didn't leave out posting one on Thunberg's birthday, Jan. 3.
Smith wrote a sweet poem in honor of Thunberg's 17th birthday, highlighting her outspoken spirit. "This is/ Greta Thunberg, turning/seventeen today, asking/for no accolade, no gifts,/save we not be neutral./ The Earth knows its kind,/ just as all deities, just as/animals and the healing/spring.Happy birthday/to Greta, who stood today,/as every Friday, refusing/ to be neutral," the poem reads.
Last year, Smith took to Instagram to highlight Thunberg's fight to bring awareness to the wolrd's dangerous climate change. After Thunberg's emotional speech at the U.N. Climate Action Summit in September in which she denounced those in power doing nothing to stop harmful effects, Smith wrote a poem on Instagram about the moment that sparked a lot of attention. The speech was even turned into a metal song.
"This is/ Greta Thunberg./ Our children are/ angry. They are/ frightened. Who/ will stand for them?/ Who will act? Who/ will wipe their tears?"
In May 2019, Smith posted a black-and-white picture of Thunberg holding her famous Swedish sign, that in English reads "School strike for the climate."
Smith recently celebrated her own birthday on Dec. 30. She turned 73.