We know the climate is changing;
We know that the atmosphere roasts.
We know too soon many places
Will be fit for no one but ghosts.
Yet we demand our holidays
And haggle for more and more stuff;
With regard to our consumption,
Excesses are never enough.
We all profess to love nature
And take the environment’s slant,
But we are pursuing lifestyles
Which threaten each creature and plant.
How do we solve this conundrum?
The answer is simple: we can’t.
As usual, you have hit the nail on the head. I like the way you haven't rhymed the last verse, Stephen. As Gilbert O'Sullivan said, nothing rhymes!
You're right, the world is full of contradictions! Let's have another climate conference and invite Jeff Bezos along...
You’re so right, Stephen. Knowing we need to do something isn’t Enough.
Stephen,
as I came to the last line I somehow expected the poem to continue. Perhaps a few more stokes of the pen as the poem is very good indeed. What you say is clearly the case that we lament the damage done to the environment but contribute to its perennial destruction.
Thank you for this
Keith
Sorry if this seems pessimistic. I don't claim to be more virtuous than anyone else.
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Stephen Gospage
Tue 12th Jul 2022 17:12
Thanks to Keith, John C and John B for the comments..Yes, Keith, I could have completed another verse - perhaps I'll revise it at some stage. The last faltering couplet is a cry of despair, I suppose. In a way we are all hypocrites, although I recognise that so much progress is being made in renewable energies etc. The scale of the problem and the contradiction between people's aspirations and their behaviour is the challenge.
Thanks for the idea, John B I guess that vanity space flight is also part of the problem! John C - I think you summarise it perfectly in one line.
Thanks to Nigel, Frederick, Stephen, Aisha, Holden and K Lynn for the likes, which I appreciate very much.