This poem is an *IA Writing Competition (fiction category) entry.
*This article was a June prize co-winner in the IA Writing Competition Most Enthralling Fiction Work category.
LEAVING THEM IN THE LURCH
It's not easy getting old,
'Specially when you've just been told
You no longer have a hold
On life's parade.
But great shadow grips my heart
As I prepare now to depart
Leaving loved ones to an Earth
That's been betrayed!
Betrayed by politicians
Who've had no inhibitions,
Taking bribes to tell us
Not to be afraid.
Of the "harmless" lumps of coal
That devoured whole their souls,
Fossil fuels or else!
Was what they all decreed.
Crushing hopes I had when young
That a Star Trek world would come,
Never dreaming that the Earth
Would die of greed!
We've all now seen the floods' implosions,
The warming waters in our oceans,
The fires burning beyond
All imagination.
The rural backs that droughts are breaking
The melting ice that's flooding nations,
And the storms that sweep before them
All creation!
Yet still we hear the bleating
Of fools denying global heating,
And fossil billionaires
Still scheming.
For the riches they'll be reaving,
For the harm
That they're still dealing
To our world!
I fear the damage has been done,
And there's a world of hurt to come
For those yet born
And those who stand now in defiance,
Of the laws designed to quell
Protestors 'gainst this climate hell,
Whom brutal police can now compel
With strict compliance!
So, as I take my final leaving
It is I who will be grieving,
For those who'll face the fatal heavings
Of an Earth soon past all hope of climate healing.
And as my loved ones I embrace,
I'll warn of what they've yet to face
On a world that dies of greed
And in disgrace!
Ann Meharg loves the English language (which is just as well because she can speak no other), loves to make people laugh and loves writing verse when inspired.
* Full IA Writing Competition details HERE.
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