Taking the Lead

 

~

 

annie raises my consciousness

takes me out of myself, briefly.

 

~

 

Apparently Monarch butterflies

are all but gone, their habitat, milkweed,

where they lay their eggs, and found

primarily along field edges, is all

but gone as well, farmers planting

fence row to fence row. This is 

nothing new, species come and go, 

mostly go. It's terrible, it's horrible,

and I ask why the farmers can't leave

a margin, would it be that costly?

Maybe the cost-benefit isn't there,

It probably isn't. The notion of 

good stewardship is a myth, I believe.

There is another side to it. From

the earth—earth, air, rain—comes

nourishment for us, every last one of us.

As a species we consume, what,

twenty-one billion meals a day?

Not that many, considering how many

go hungry, but enough to make

fence row to fence row planting

either necessary, or near to it. Yet,

some of the best ground on the planet

is lost to urban sprawl every year.

We can't do this, all of this, to ourselves,

but we are, and we will, until something

catastrophic happens, and then,

which superhero will save us, and who

will get the lead, Brad or Angelina?

 

~





Poetry by one trick pony The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 693 times
Written on 2015-08-18 at 19:42

dott Save as a bookmark (requires login)
dott Write a comment (requires login)
dott Send as email (requires login)
dott Print text


Jamsbo Rockda The PoetBay support member heart!
Unfortunately what you write is true. Perhaps there will be a different kind of butterfly effect. We will discover too late that the answer to life, the universe and everything was written in microscopic letters on the underside of their fragile wings and we will never know it now. Monarch butterflies are so beautiful and mankind is ugly. Better to wipe out mankind.
2015-08-21


Arunesh dixit
This is strong and you have emerged as Superhero in a bit by voicing this cause. Nicely written..

Regards,
Arunesh
2015-08-19


Lawrence Beck The PoetBay support member heart!
I enjoyed the thoughtfulness of this poem. It's much better than those "butterflies-are-more-important-than-people" poems those suffering from affluenza write, and I liked the cynical finish. My money's on Channing Tatum.

From out in space, the earth looks like a planet with a lot of things moving around on it. That's us, things moving around, pieces of the planet, indistinguishable from waves or dust storms. It's important to maintain some perspective.
2015-08-19


Carmen
I love your voice and the things you have to say. They are like a breath of fresh air. I hope you stay and keep on writing for us.
I think you write for all of us, and so many enjoy your style.*
Ashe (Carmen)
2015-08-18