The world is saying sorry today.
Sorry for the things she can’t control.
Like Earthquakes.
And Volcanic eruptions.
And over-population.
The first two are functions of geology.
While the last is the fault of humanity.
Yet we blame Her and ignore her warning signs
Like self-obsessed teenagers with back
Pocket-flip mirrors and candy-flavoured lip gloss.
The Earth’s apology is so beautiful though.
It is so genuine.
Even if we don’t recognise it for what it is.
Her peace lily skies
(they are that pale, that sensuous)
Lick the face of the world
And with a heart full of flower buds and
Glitter-penned letters we watch her glow
Into being.
Today she just wants to be looked after,
To be cared for,
She just wants to be loved.
–
The State of The World has been on my mind what with the Climate Talks in Poland occurring at present. As the talks are extended I am both filled with Hope that Change will be sparked and also a belly-ache-dread that The Signs will be missed and we will continue to hurtle towards climate catastrophe…
So to process these feelings I wrote a poem. Because writing is how I process everything… Words are how I make sense of My World and The World.
This poem, titled Apology, personifies The World as a Gaia type figure, a romanticized heroine who is saying sorry for the fevers and the fires she creates in gestures of rebellion against the hurt being done to her. Humanity is the mean teenage girlfriend who is more interested in how she looks than listening to the words of Earth.
