There are people who live in a world of Us and Other,
on a different frequency, unable, unwilling to hear
that coming together works far better, and more kindly,
than division and vitriol. But their eyes wax fanatical,
and there is no reasoning with the determinedly
and thoroughly indoctrinated. (In their heart of hearts,
do they believe their lies?)
There are people who sell their souls for power and privilege, who fawn at the feet of wanna-be king toads, kissing the ring of their mob boss, afraid to offend and be cast away like so many others have been, and as they themselves might be, one day.
There are those with gentle hearts who grow more silent as every year passes, at finding ourselves in such a world, whose sense of justice is offended daily by all that is wrong.
We may open a window, breathe in the morning air,
be grateful for the blue sky, the trees, the wild ones, but our heart stays weighed down by a planet in crisis, by governments' wilful negligence in allowing corporations to destroy Mother Earth, at those too busy fighting each other in wars, and through partisan politics, to fight the even bigger fight,which will be extreme climate events the likes of which we are only beginning to see, at a pace that accelerates with every passing year, as the planet's cries of distress grow ever louder, and are ignored.
The world needs visionaries. Instead, fascism is rising all over the world. Can democracies not see that its loss will mean corrupt power and privilege for the few at the top and untold suffering for all other beings? Have we forgotten all we once understood, values men fought and died for, human rights once fiercely defended, now falling to fundamentalist ideologies?
On behalf of the wild ones who are going extinct in ever-increasing numbers, and the millions of refugees already displaced by war, famine, drought and climate crisis, to the hillsides bare of trees, sliding down to cover villages below, and land annually flooded or lost to wildfires, I say :
Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa.
I apologize for my kind,
knowing no apology, no attempt to redress the wrongs
or restore what has been lost, will ever be enough,
will never be on time.
Sigh. Not feeling very hopeful these days.
Every word! I feel it and it is depressing and heavy... not feeling very hopeful either, Sherry... everything seems too broken. So glad you wrote this for all of us who can't find enough words.
ReplyDeleteSherry your poem has really put the finger on the problem. The answer seems so simple, but it isn't really, not when you are dealing with people. Love your poem and thanks for your comment about my own. annell
ReplyDeleteI think people can unite around simple ideas, presented by ones. Save *these* trees. Don't build *this* nuclear plant. Don't frack *this* mountain. Better to walk to work and freshen up in the office than to drive to work. Flaunt the dandelions that prove the grass has not been poisoned.
ReplyDeleteIt's when people try to expand it into large-scale political power grabs that unity becomes a hopelessly lost cause. Resentment of proposed expansion of government even spills over into resentment of efforts to protect *this* lake or *these* animals.
PK