We fell to the ground grasping at glory
Determined to keep all our honour intact
The more that we reached out with hands clawed and scratching
Our goal disappeared, fabled not fact
Yet still we advanced like mad fools, demented
Determined to make our dream come alive
Harness the earth, make it bow to our bidding
Secure our mad futures, in dark times to thrive
All sense, love and wonder seem things long-forgotten
The one thing that matters is power driven greed
We dismiss those who caution, they’re mad men and tree-huggers
Yet step back, take a moment – what do you believe?
We don’t own this planet, never have in millennia
No, it’s not ours to discard when we’re over and done
There is only one Earth, live on it lightly
We don’t get a second chance – there is no re-run.
******
You might be pleased to note that I am ready to submit my work in progress novel to the writing competition! The synopsis was my task at this month’s writing group – goodness me, it was hard work, but well worth it. All I need to do now is write a cover letter, print it all out and post it off – how exciting! (It is to me, anyway!). If nothing else, I’ve got back into the swing of entering my work, so there’s no excuse now…
This week’s poem is, once again, inspired by my novelling – this time, the general backdrop of environmental distress. I hope you find it a little thought provoking?
Please do visit the dVerse Open Link Night for examples of some very fine poetry indeed – and be inspired… Join us!
Freya Writes... 
no there is not…though the way we act you would think that it really did not matter…yes, madmen and fools…we tramp along leaving destruction in our wakes…
and congrats on your novel as well…that is very cool…
Thank you, Brian. I have this soap box that I carry around and step up on every so often (rather often) about the way we treat our planet… My dad would be proud 🙂
Thank you for the good wishes too 🙂
we def. have just this one earth and we need to take good care of her…often we don’t… and so cool on the novel as well…. congrats..
Indeed we don’t… And thank you!
caution is easier than we might think… why ever it has to take courage to be cautious is beyond me… just get on the bike and you have started.. and congrats to the book… hope it works out.
Yes, get on the bike, or walk (I do a *lot* of walking!).
Thank you, Bjorn…
What a nice piece, I would like permission to use it with my students on Earth Day. I’ll credit it to you, of course.
❤
Of course you can! Thank you so much for the honour – I really do appreciate it.
There’s a North American Native proverb that goes: “We did not inherit the earth from our parents. We are borrowing it from our children.” Your poem rings so true!
Yes, it was in my mind as I wrote last night – thank you, Bryan.
Our grasping at ego driven glory, overlooking Mother Nature’s needs has a habit of back-firing.. Good one.
Thank you, Gemma. Indeed it does – we do feel we are the masters, and really, we are not….
I really loved this, Freya — the rhythm of it, the language. The imagery of those first four lines is just amazing.
Thank you so much, Helena!
Love the flow and the message this conveys.
Thank you, Kathryn, I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Ooh! I feel the poetic passion from line to line, the tension…
Thank you, Emmett – yes, I did get carried away!
There is indeed no re-run… it is what it is now and if once destroyed, it is not coming back. Interesting write.
And all the very best to you.
-HA
Thank you, HA.
I like the beginning of the poem especially – perhaps it gets a bit too direct and ‘proclamatory’ towards the end (then again, perhaps we all need to hear this more!!!).
And congratulations on completing and submitting your novel!
Yes, it does take a bossy tone….Sometimes, that’s how I am! Thank you… 🙂
This earth is not ours to raze to the ground ~ We have to care for it for the next generation ~
And congrats with your novel ~ All the best ~
Indeed we do, Grace. Thank you!
Congratulations on the novel submission. Well done! 🙂
I like this poem, I often feel this way about how we treat the Earth, our home. Very good.
Thank you, Shanyn, on both counts.
I agree with you about the planet. I’ve got a feeling that one day, if we keep tickling its throat in our current reckless manner, it will cough and chuck us all out into deep space or oblivion. More cheerfully, well done on the book. I know what that means.
I thought of vomiting, rather than coughing – maybe a dose of whooping cough, which I have had and will never forget!
Yes ! For me a powerful piece of writing. However the rality is stark, whether it is us or Nature there will be change to the surface of the earth and people will suffer and die. We only have to think of the new mountain ranges growing, the buried cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii, the craters (eg Lonar in India) or the earthquake in Haiti. These forces are more powerful than us.
What if a meteorite lijke the one that made the Lonar Crater just 500 000 yeras ago landed on a big city like Paris or New York? It could happen tomorrow.
http://lonar.org/lonar-crater/
What to do? In practice most of us ignore these risks, as the only way of coping
Yes, a very good point. I think if we tried to think about absolutely everything that could threaten us, we would go insane. So better to take care of the things that we can – even if that is protesting to the government, not using the car and walking instead…. Little things do matter.
Nicely penned and congrats on your novel.
Thank you, Ayala.
Congratulations! And, “Nudge” is a most poignant, well written poem, ending in this reality: no place for earthlings to go once we are finished destroying our earth home…
Thank you so much, Lindy Lee. Indeed, there is nowhere else for us to go, which is a sobering thought…