Wednesday 23 March 2016

POETS UNITED - CLIMATE

“Climate change is happening, humans are causing it, and I think this is perhaps the most serious environmental issue facing us.” - Bill Nye

For its Midweek Motif, Poets United has set the theme of “Climate”. My poem below:

Climate

The Earth shakes, shudders, sick
Covered in dark pall of smoke
Lost in hopeless contemplation
Of an uncertain future.

The moon looks on
And mirrors her sister’s fate
As stars impassively
Witness the decadence.

The Earth dejected, weeps
Black tears; coughs up polluted phlegm
Regurgitates poisoned food
And dies an ever-quickening death.

The oceans froth and spew up
Choking fish, dead algae,
Mercury-tainted jellyfish,
Suicidal whales by the score.

The Earth despairs, breeding
Sterile offspring, mutated monsters,
Dead plants, addled eggs,
Species driven to extinction.

The air is charred, ice melts,
Cyclones, bushfires, earthquakes
Vie with Tsunamis and errant climate
As to which will seal our fate.

The Earth remembers, wistful,
Past springs, all green and flowery;
Summers golden with ripening grain,
Autumns replete with bountiful harvest.
The Earth recalls, regretful,
A million birdsongs, playful fish,
Pure rain and limpid waters, 
With winters when snow was still white.

9 comments:

  1. Oh my goodness! Your images are powerful and prescient. What is to be done? I think it is too soon to wistfully lay down on the earth's memory. I hope time remains for change and poems like this are wake-up calls.

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  2. The earth remembers indeed Nicholas....hopefully we will and then do something about it before it is too late. Lovely write full of wisdom. :-)

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  3. The moon looks on
    And mirrors her sister’s fate

    Especially enamored with these lines..!

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  4. Ouch. This poem hurts, with its hard hitting truths. Our poor planet. I suspect the mutated monster is humankind, sadly. We could be so much better than we are, as a species.

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  5. How important it is to give the earth feelings as you have done here to express the hurt and anticipate the calamity to come. We may not see it but our children and children's children will.

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  6. What can we do about all of this. All we can do is to pressure govs to make the change.I am noticing a lot more solar roofs in the country...that is heartening.What would a Greek do to cheer himself . Sit on the beach put his head in his hands and cry? No..he would pull out his handkerchief and start dancing..saying stuff you all...I'm leaving this planet in party mode...Sorry I should have said the last bit in Greek....but too difficult for me to write it:)Opa!!!!

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  7. The dance between all the forces of nature! Beautiful!

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  8. Such a tender lament - the notion of the moon and the earth being sisters touched me the most..so near and yet so far away from each other..and remembering snow as white..like wishing for the best dream - which once was real

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  9. How we all really thirst for your last stanza - It this global world of today it is hard to believe we can't all unite and get it done - but it appears the hateful and greedy are louder and so we "war".

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