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Can We Fix a Broken Planet? A Short Poem

Updated on March 18, 2018
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Geology, astronomy, Earth and weather sciences have always fascinated this author.

Oil Spill

Taken by a military officer in the course of his duties puts this photo in the public domain
Taken by a military officer in the course of his duties puts this photo in the public domain | Source

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?

Source

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

working

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