Let us change the climate

Let us change the climate 

 

In ancient days the winters stayed

Till spring released the cold on cue;

The rains delayed till summer called,

And sun and moon their measures knew.

The forests breathed with ordered grace,

The rivers kept their patient course;

Lakes brimmed with life, wells did not fail,

And nature ruled by quiet force.

Then rose a few with charts and coin,

Who vowed to fix the seasons’ scheme;

They called the forests wasted space,

And mocked the balance they had seen.

They hunted beasts for sport and show,

They felled the trees called excess growth;

What lived in harmony for ages

Was priced, extracted, sold, and broke.

They stained the skies with chimneys’ breath

Till children aged before their time;

They poured their waste in flowing streams

And bribed the law to bless the crime.

The forest deafened by their noise,

No leaf was left for bird or beast;

The deserts spread where green once stood,

Yet still they preached the damage ceased.

Centuries passed. Then came the cry:

“Oh—now the climate’s torn apart!”

The experts met in glass-lit rooms

To model graphs and soften charts.

But foe and friend both shook their hands,

For gold had taught them how to agree;

When profit speaks, the morals sleep,

And truth is bent conveniently.

“Climate change is hard,” they sighed,

“No way to turn the turning tide.

If nature won’t obey our will,

Then law must bend and logic slide.”

So statutes grew both firm and wide,

Not aimed at cause, but voice and blame;

Those who named the wound were jailed,

While those who cut the earth ruled on—

Unchanged.