The Emergency

We held a fund raiser for the Australian bushfires today, and it lit a fire inside of me to write. It's been a long time since this happened, so without further ado, I present to you my (long) poem, entitled The Emergency. 

The Emergency:

Climate cried in pain as her lungs filled with smoke

Rain forests on fire, it's all a big joke

Light up the fire, have a snag and a beer

The climate is not changing, the end is nowhere near

Was plain to see that our earth started ailing

From carbon pumped out, and policies failing

From cool, dark coal, compacted and lumped

Presenting a problem which had everyone stumped:

"What about jobs?" We screamed (in the chasm) to our mates

"Culling jobs for the climate is a huge mistake"

"Greens are commies" - a line the right would soon buy

As temperatures rose, and fire fell from the sky

Earth struggled to keep up, failing to stand by

With each and every fire, she told us we would die

We listened not to her, gave the pollies some more clout

And added to the carnage with more carbon pumped out

"It's the arsonist's fault," was a put-forward theory

Although the sight of charred animals was kind of eerie

Coffers swelled, propping up the board members

All that was left of the forests was embers

It felt insane, our love for this coal

It was like killing the earth was our only goal

It was like a sick game being played

But in the end, it was us who paid

“We must use more gas, we must," was the lie extolled

We listened, and we did; good sheep do as they're told

We'd never worked out what we truly are

But we love a VB at the quiet country bar

Earth fought and fought, and then fought some more

As the humans pulled out even more of her ore

"Save the jobs, save the jobs," we all screamed as one voice

Adani sunk a mine, this was completely our choice

We all laughed with glee, scant regard for our time

We focused on mining, anything for a dime

We neglected our planet, our life-giving earth

With each passing day, a new fire gave birth

But our lungs started burning, more fires, they flared up

Earth's eyes looked at us sadly, just after Melbourne Cup

"What about the jobs," we screamed as our horse finished first

Ignoring their parched throats, the beginning of thirst

As food sources dried up, hunger pangs became real

We said "Let them eat coal" because there wasn't any veal

We tried to melt icebergs to cool down the sea

which was quite foolish, as foolish can be

As the winds got warmer and the air got much thinner

We questioned ourselves, "just who was the winner?"

"We kept all our jobs, so it has to be us"

We thought to ourselves, "so that's a big plus"

But more cyclones struck, and wild weather ensued

It was a real downer, really souring our mood

More people were dying, which was a big shock

Maybe it was time to sit up, take stock

But time is a fickle and strange old thing

Time left us behind, which would really sting

We had our chance and we thoroughly blew it

And now earth was saying, "you know what? Screw it"

Our children got cancer from just being outside

And that's not to mention their friends who have died

The sky was smoky and hot; bright red was the hue

We didn't see this coming, we didn't have a clue

One by one, we each passed away

There was nowhere left for the children to play

No animals to hear, breed, or see

They died before us, before you and me

The deniers outlast us, their old money made good

Boomers, they were called, in strong houses - not wood

But slowly and surely, one by one they all fell

If only that coal was not such a good sell

And with their last breath of good air

Victory laugh, without care

"We won," they cackled, as they fell by the way

"Or maybe not" as their lives ebbed away

And when there were no more people on earth

A strange thing happened: a time of new birth

Life started again, simple at first

For the next generation, who would not be so cursed

There was no clue of problems long passed

Our remains they studied, "They died so fast"

"They were simple," they thought, "Could not live forever"

"Unlike us, for we are so clever"