Tuesday, March 6, 2018

We Can't Eat Money



The animals are looking at us
with questions in their eyes.
They are starving,
with nowhere to live.
The trees shiver with fright
as the chainsaws roar.
Whales lose their lives
in the noisy, polluted ocean.
Creatures all over Mother Earth
are disappearing.

And still the Two-Leggeds
log and frack and lay waste.
The Black Snake coils
across the land,
spewing death.
Plastics pour into the sea
and come back out as our food.
As a species we are unique
in fouling our own nests,
destroying our habitat,
and that of 
every other creature.

There is not enough money 
in the world
to fix all we have destroyed.
Nor enough time.

Mother Earth is crying
for our voices, our actions,
our help,
for she can heal,
if we give her the chance.

What will it take
for us to understand:
humankind is in peril, too?
What happens to one,
in the web of life,
happens to us all.



for Susan's prompt at Midweek Motif at Poets United: Money



18 comments:

  1. I watch humanity cover farmers fields, woods,bush and small villages with townhouses,condos and concrete all the time wondering where it will lead us

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  2. A good one. Do you remember the bumper sticker "Eat the Rich"? That wouldn't help ether. Thank you for continuing to write REVOLUTION!

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    1. I have a friend who made bumper stickers that say: "Money is a drug. Heal the spirit." and "Money Rules. The spirit liberates." Love them!

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  3. If we can ever answer that last question, we might have a future... one can hope.

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  4. Good reminder. I love that quote. I think Mother Earth is giving us a chance to behave but we're not paying any heed. We need a bit of spanking.

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  5. Excellent, Sherry. This just nails it.

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  6. An eloquent write..the last verse wrapped it up beautifully

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  7. Oh, this is an eloquent, heartrending cry! May we hear and respond as we must, if Mother Earth is to be spared utter annihilation.

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  8. A wonderful write! No truer words ever spoken...

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  9. 50 million years, give or take an order of magnitude.

    Agent Smith in the Matrix movies was right - humans are a virus on the planet... ~

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  10. The love of money makes the rich blind. Sadly survival relies on the continued existence, of healthy rivers and seas, of abundant animals, birds, fish and insects. Yet their deaths in the gathering of oil, coal and timber and everything else is not only killing them...but us eventually too!

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  11. So very true. We can't eat money and yet we act as if it will cure all diseases, provide peace in our souls, give endless resources to continue to deplete. Very good. Very well said.

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  12. Man is the cause of their own foolishness and troubles to the environment. Agreed Sherry!

    Hank

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  13. Greed for wealth and power... your poem is so true.. not enough money to fix the mess we've made of our nest.

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  14. A timely message. What will it take for us to take action? Hopefully, 1 person at a time....

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  15. I think this is my favorite poem of yours! I liked the quote, and the message."As a species we are unique
    in fouling our own nests," is so shockingly true. I always enjoy your "American Indian-like take" on the prompts, Sherry. Love your poetry!

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  16. Thought provoking approach, money can't be utilised for all the loses humans have done to Mother earth.

    Cheers
    MeenalSonal from AuraOfThoughts

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