Arlene Corwin writes

The Disappearance Of The Flora & The Fauna

As usual I watch TV.

Not news but documentary.

“Care and Sustenance of Nature”

Is the theme, wherein I learn

The world’s downfall is not the climate, wars or other,

But the disappearance of the flora

And the fauna.

Who knew? Not I, certainly.

With population out of hand,

We continue in our building,

Take the forests and its bounty.

Must we people mutiny?

In the forests are the flora and the fauna.

Insects, mosses, mushrooms, herbs;

All dependent on the flora.

All reliant on the fauna.

Population out of hand; swelling daily,

How to build for it more wisely?

Species dying out of hand,

We, the ostriches in sand,

Where lies duty, where lies blame?

Where lies power and restraint?

Where lies leadership, and who shall act?

I, you, we who lacked the facts?

Trump has plans to dig the Arctic.

There can be no Noah’s Ark. Bit

Rapes and drills

And why the hell do we need oil?

Will the planet turn into

A windblown, sterile, long dead ‘thing’

Hanging there somewhere in space?

Seen from out another planet, what will be its face?

Green or over-green? Impure for sure?

Caked and coated.  Sun-blocked from atomic war.

Or it could be drowned by water.

What in hell can be/could be?

‘Hell on earth’ no more cliché

But Nature’s unconcerned reality.

 

 The Great Wave of Kanagawa-- Hokusai

[Re-worked; punchier, more disciplined, I hope. -- Arlene]

As usual I watch TV.

Not news but documentary.

“Care and Sustenance of Nature” theme, wherein I learn

The world’s downfall is not the climate, wars or other,

But the disappearance of the fauna, disappearance of the flora.

Population out of hand, we continue in our building,

Take the forests and its bounty.

Must we mutiny?

In the forests are the flora and the fauna:

Insects, mosses, mushrooms, herbs;

All dependent on the flora, all reliant on the fauna.

Population out of hand; swelling daily,

How to build for it more wisely?

Species dying out of hand,

We, the ostriches in sand,

Where lies duty, where lies blame?

Where lies power and restraint?

Who shall act with calm and tact?

I, you, we who lacked the facts?

T has plans to dig the Arctic.

There can be no Noah’s Ark. Bit bores and drills.

Do we need oil?

Fated to be hanging there somewhere in space,

Green, over-green, impure for sure?

Seen from up above, sun-blocked from war?

Submerged in water. What could be:

‘Hell on earth’ no more cliché but nature’s blithe reality.