Tuesday, December 12, 2023

A GOREY MOMENT

by Lynn White


An agreement by countries to phase out fossil fuels would be “one of the most significant events in the history of humanity,” according to Al Gore, amid wrangling by governments at Cop28. “If there were a decision here to surprise the world to say ‘OK we get it now, we’ve made enough money, we will get on with what needs to be done to give young people a sense of hope again and stop as much as suffering as possible and start the phase-out of fossil fuels,’ it would be one of the most significant events in the history of humanity,” the former US vice-president said. —The Guardian, December 4, 2023


I sometimes have a Gorey moment

wondering what could have been

if the hanging chads

hadn’t hung,

or if Gore had hung up

his gentleman’s suit

and cried “Fraud”

as loudly as Trump was to do.


No hate to fuel 9/11,

no war in Iraq, 

perhaps

the end

of history 

would be nigh

as Fukuyama predicated,

existing divisions becoming

historic

and no new ones

created.


With more Gore less blood

would be spilled.

There would be no Bushfires burning

the sun would be shining 

but without its intensity,

the storms would be still

and the world would be stable.


It was hanging by a thread

and we missed it

missed the chance

to grasp those chads

hanging.



Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality and writes hoping to find an audience for her musings. She was shortlisted in the Theatre Cloud 'War Poetry for Today' competition and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net, and a Rhysling Award. Her poetry has appeared in many publications including: Apogee, Firewords, Peach Velvet, Light Journal, and So It Goes. Find Lynn on Facebook.