Can We Fix a Broken Planet? A Short Poem
Oil Spill
Earth is Dying: Technology Run Amok
The shaking's done: the well has run dry.
The oil is spilled; we've clogged the sky.
The ozone's broken:
a great black hole sits poised,
To suck away our atmosphere. (they say)
*****
The politicians do not care;
They see only money and not the horror.
Corrupted thinking, bribes and greed rule their hearts:
We must not let them win!
*****
How is it, I want to know,
That we have the technology
To break the planet,
But not to fix it?
History of This Poem
Newspaper and magazine headlines, TV newscasts; all make a point of the mess we humans have made of the planet. This poem was written with a combination of anxiety and disgust over what has come to pass.
Given that all of this mess has been made in such a relatively short span of time, it is all the more frightening. As I write this, I'm 70 years old, and none of this was even thought of or a concern during my childhood. It all began to be noticed by folks in the late 1960s and early 1970s. But the people who noticed then, were shoved aside; labeled as 'hippies' or 'beatniks,' or just troublemakers.
It wasn't until the very late 1980s and early 1990s that any official notice was taken; and at that, it was minimal. The Powers That Be (TPTB) chose to ignore the issues in favor of fat incomes, and wait until a near-irreversible crisis was upon us.
Although this poem was originally written back in 1990--its message is as timely and urgent today, perhaps more so! It's been slightly modified once or twice since then.
Original written 2-10-90, 5-5-2010, revised further on 10/12/10; and again 1-21-12; and 02-21-18, this poem has undergone more tweaks than most; it sometimes happens that way. Just part of being a writer.
© 2010 Liz Elias