The Fate

One more Earth Day has been celebrated. Will we learn anything or are we one year closer to meeting our fate?

You use and abuse me as much as you can,

But I am not your private property.

You defile my rivers with the waste you generate,

But someday you will realize your folly.

You never think twice before satisfying your greed,

But if you make amends I always forgive.

You convert my forests into wastelands,

But I do nothing. I am not impulsive.

You exploit my resources to your heart’s content,

But I allow you to do so, such is my nature.

You destroy the delicate balance which exists,

But I patiently hope that one day you’ll mature.

You pollute my lungs with noxious fumes,

But I silently suffer and tolerate.

You carry on as always your senseless carnage,

But you think that I’m powerless because I do not retaliate.

Then one day:

The Earth’s temperature is found to have risen,

The glaciers in the mountains are melting.

The skies are dark and overcast,

Throughout the year it is heavily raining.

Houses and people have washed away,

The banks of the rivers are flooded.

The water is no longer fit for drinking,

The aquifers below are contaminated.

Crops and fields have been destroyed,

For weeks there is no food to eat.

Even when the rain stops there is no respite,

Many more die from the sweltering heat.

Blinded by his belief in his omnipotence,

Man conquered the land, sky, and ocean.

Today a victim of his own misdoings,

I tried to warn him, but did he listen?