They read the wildfires,
listened to the songs of floods,
tornadoes and whales,
conversed with owl and eagle,
howled with wolves at the full moon.
But they ignored them,
too attached to throwaway
gratification,
the centres of their own worlds,
to care about the real world.
It took a whisper,
the gasp of a pandemic,
to make them listen
and notice nature’s kindness
in the blossoming of spring.
They’ve come full circle,
the warning was too quiet,
here they are again,
Earth’s children running riot
with their fingers in their ears.
PS
Although you love them
dearly,you might have to spell
it out more clearly.
Kim M. Russell, 25th July 2020
A poem for earthweal open link weekend #30
writing in north norfolk 
“Earth’s children running riot with their fingers in their ears.” That says it all. Wonderfully written, Kim. Wow. I made my friend laugh the other day by saying “Maybe people are so destructive because they know there’ll be no future generations to judge us.” Sigh.
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Thank you, Sherry. Everything seems to be going to hell in a hand cart, again!
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p.s. That image is amazing!
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What a great illustration!
Luckily my own children never frequented the kinds of self-destructive activities people are prone to when trying to prove that no one (especially their mother) can tell them what to do. But too many of us of all ages are still trying to prove a point of some kind about our independence. Human behavior follows no logic. (K)
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I love “throwaway gratification”. We’ve been stuck there far too long, eh? And now, given our new world,..
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Thanks Ron!
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This poem really tells it like it is. People are running riot with their fingers in their ears here too. What a wonderful description! It makes me wonder what will happen next.
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The virus seems to be coming back in some parts of Europe, as well as in isolated cities in the UK. It has to be down to human recklessness. So many warnings.
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Yes, it is rife in Melbourne, case numbers are climbing and many pople are still taking risks. The city is in lockdown. I am outside the lockdown area but cases are going up here too. I am being very cautious.
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Stay safe, Suzanne.
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You too
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Well, as a Floridian, all I can do is sigh and say buckle back up. Modern human nature is the real disease here.
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Like the humour and the message in those last lines, the poem captures the times we are living through!
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🙂
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