by Ronald J. Pelias
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| AI graphic by Nightcafé for The New Verse News |
When our earth stands on its wobbly legs,
its ankles broken, knee ligaments torn,
its lungs black with soot and sorrow
when our chemicals pollute and poison,
our air and water contaminate our bodies,
and pandemics become commonplace
when the heat rises each day to record levels
and oceans rise above our frightened feet
faster than any barrier can be built
when fires eat the landscape, tornadoes
tear through our homes, and hurricanes
can’t be measured with current categories
when polar bears starve as the ice melts,
whales wash on shore with bellies filled
with plastic, and bees die from insecticide
when steadfast scientists, overwhelmed
by the enormity of earth’s physical deterioration,
insist on triage priority for our fading planet
when environmentalists warn and warn
and the politicians do nothing to change course,
to save, here and now, the blue ball we call home
when other celestial bodies are beyond
reach, dreams of a better future fade,
and hope washes away with the latest flood
when words fall on the deaf ears of deniers
and our earth collapses on its wobbly legs,
it might be helpful to offer a steadying hand.
Ronald J. Pelias has spent his career working with the fusion of performance, literature, and qualitative research methods. His most recent books are The Creative Qualitative Researcher (Routledge), Lessons on Aging and Dying (Routledge) and Writing and Other Familiar Things (Routledge).