It is distinctly odd to live in a rainforest
that is no longer a rainforest - the soil
is dry all the way down, drought spreading
across the province. And oddest of all
is watching them cut down the trees
that are left, as the rest burn down, while it gets
hotter and hotter and no one in charge
seems able or willing to connect those dots.
Is it hot enough yet?
In other odd news: a "snow apocalypse" in Germany,
a hailstorm in summer, snowploughs dispatched;
and floods in Halifax, three months worth of rain
in one day, homes flooded and roads washed away.
a hailstorm in summer, snowploughs dispatched;
and floods in Halifax, three months worth of rain
in one day, homes flooded and roads washed away.
"Something's changed," say the scientists,
(who have been ignored for three decades).
"The water off all three Canadian coasts
has never been warmer."
(who have been ignored for three decades).
"The water off all three Canadian coasts
has never been warmer."
Is it hot enough yet?
We are a strange species, so brilliant we've created
machines smarter than us; so dumb we elect
machines smarter than us; so dumb we elect
gangsters with no moral compass to lead
the most powerful country in the world
just because he wants a bigger reality show.
the most powerful country in the world
just because he wants a bigger reality show.
So much in denial we keep on keeping on
as if things are normal; so freaked out
we can barely believe this place
we have come to.
as if things are normal; so freaked out
we can barely believe this place
we have come to.
Somewhere they are cutting off shark fins
and throwing the bodies back in the water
because people like shark fin soup. Somewhere
they are building octopus "farms" so they can
serve them - live - as food. Somewhere
the ocean is coloured with the blood
of porpoises who scream as they die.
and throwing the bodies back in the water
because people like shark fin soup. Somewhere
they are building octopus "farms" so they can
serve them - live - as food. Somewhere
the ocean is coloured with the blood
of porpoises who scream as they die.
Maybe this is why we humans have finally
endangered even ourselves. Maybe this
is why.
endangered even ourselves. Maybe this
is why.
I am reading "I Want a Better Catastrophe" by Andrew Boyd : "Navigating the Climate Crisis with Grief, Hope and Gallows Humor". It is very well done, tells it like it is, tries to help the reader find a way forward as we watch the accelerating crisis and impotent world leaders too blinded by oil and money and power to do what most urgently needs to be done.
It is so odd to be alive now witnessing all these things. I agree with the conclusion of your poem - you state the truth plainly. Suzanne - Mapping Uncertainty
ReplyDeleteThe world has changed so much. I wonder has the human species not learned anything? When will it be hot enough? By then it will be too late to change the hands of our existence. - Truedessa
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Sherry. We knew how to shut down the world for Covid, it is obvious this time around, there is an unwillingness to see the data. Scary situation. And that book sounds interesting - will check it out.
ReplyDeleteSigh. These odd little human responses to catastrophe tell us that we as a tribe will go down not acting, hunkered down while it all burns. We're an odd little species.
ReplyDeleteThe Catastrophe book is all about feeling the pain but still acting, trying to do what we can to slow the pace of collapse.....including badgering officials at every level to do the jobs they were elected to do.
ReplyDeleteIn fairness I think the Prez we have now was pushed. What can we do? The role of television in elections has been to make only hopeless extroverts electable. We allow only actors (or failed actors) to become President and then we seem to be surprised when they act like a lot of actors...or when the job's been best, or least badly, done by an aging actor.
ReplyDeleteWho's talking about actual ideas? By and large, people who don't watch television. For those who get their news from television, it's one big popularity contest, who's the biggest box office draw, who gets the most "likes," who "likes" whom. That guarantees something close to a kakistocracy.
I hate to say it but I don't think it will ever be hot enough.
ReplyDeletepainful and heartbreaking, and also, on a more personal level, dangerous and terrifying, all this heat, all these aberrations in a millennia-old pattern that has made such a rich world--too rich,perhaps, as it dazzles the greedy with a call to plunder it. We become stupider as a species, and seem determined to look away from all unpleasantness, ignore what we don't want to hear like a toddler--and any parent can tell you how that goes. A very speaking and sad poem, Sherry.
ReplyDeleteSuch depressing "odd little things." I don't choose to read depressing books such as the one you mentioned though. They make a person feel even more helpless, and this is not good for my mental health. Sometimes it is good for me to take a step back and engross myself in a good mystery.
ReplyDeleteA difficult litany of our foolishness. I do still live with the hope that we were born for these times and that we will remember what right action looks like in time. Thanks for your courage in always facing it full on.
ReplyDeleteand yet, I still know people who raise their eyes at the phrase "global warming", I'll have to check out your book recommendation, I need to hear a rational voice...JIM
ReplyDeleteSherry, Eric here. How we think we can escape nature, we can’t even escape our own nature, to plow ahead, heedless of the effect we have. “If we don’t do it someone else will”. Yuck
ReplyDelete