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The death of the orangutan named Sampurna was confirmed Thursday by the West Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) in Borneo. |
Sampurna the orangutan has died
You may not have known him in life
But you will perhaps
Know him in death
A male orangutan who was being monitored
By a wildlife rescue organization
He was at home in an Indonesian rainforest
When it caught fire
As the fire raged on and on
It filled with toxic smoke
Which Sampurna and all his neighbors
Could not help but breathe
After several days of poisonous inhalations
Sampunrna was found wheezing and choking
In a dry roadside ditch
Unable to stand
Rescue workers tried to help
They lifted him from the ditch
Gave him oxygen
Told him he was going to get better
But he did not get better
The struggle for each labored breath
Grew more and more difficult until
Sampurna died
Of course his death was emblematic
Of the deadly effects of the climate catastrophe
That is wreaking havoc with life
On planet Earth
But his death was also the death
Of a singular being,
A fellow creature, a unique self
A brother to all of us, a friend
Buff Whitman-Bradley podcasts his poetry at thirdactpoems.podbean.com .