Poetry – Dear Mrs Planet

Posted on by Opher

Dear Mrs Planet

 

Dear Mrs Planet, you know we’re just chimpanzees

Who think we’re very clever.

So help us if you please,

Because we think we’ll live forever.

 

We think the oceans are an infinite resource

That we can fish and fish;

That we can take what we want by force

And do anything we wish.

 

But you know Mrs Planet,

How deluded we can be

Consuming like a greedy gannet,

And failing to agree.

 

But please Mrs Planet,

Remember it was you who created us.

Please don’t have a hissy fit

And kick us off the bus.

 

We’ll plant lots of trees

And not spray all the land

With toxic chemicals.

We’ll try to get them banned.

 

We’ll try our very hardest

To be so very good

And behave with intelligence

Like we know we should.

 

I’m writing Mrs Planet,

To apologise.

Please Mrs Planet,

Open our eyes and make us wise.

 

Opher 18.7.2020

Poetry – There is enough

Posted on by Opher

There is enough

 

There is enough.

There is more than enough.

So, why do some still have nothing?

 

Some deserve the limos,

Some deserve the yachts.

It seems that some deserve everything.

 

In a world of plenty

No sense seems to apply.

Everyone left to make their way,

To struggle or to die.

 

Nothing seems to matter.

There is no morality.

Lip service to religion

With obvious hypocrisy.

 

In the world of plenty

There is more than enough.

But the thoughtlessness and greed

Keep the gravy on the bus.

 

Opher 13.7.2020

Poetry – Profit Continues

Posted on by Opher

Profit Continues

 

As oceans rise and lakes dry,

Forests become desert land;

Rain fails and crops fry,

Many species make their last stand.

 

As coral bleach and fish die

Still mankind fails to understand.

Carbon continues to fill the sky

A stratagem remains unplanned.

 

Profit continues as the reason why

And fertile soil becomes sand.

Desperate people migrate or die

While pompous politicians grandstand.

 

Opher – 13.7.2020

Poetry – It’s the Small things

Posted on by Opher

It’s the Small things

 

It’s the small things,

The tree, the pond;

The small things:

The patch of nettles.

Every loss a blow.

Every small thing

A diminishing,

Until one day

There are no more small things.

 

Opher – 13.7.2020

Poetry – A feast

Posted on by Opher

A Feast

 

A feast of flowers,

Cornucopia of creatures,

Selection of seeds,

Intensity of insects,

All thriving in a composed community.

Profoundly profuse,

Vigorously vital,

Symbiotically sustaining,

Humming harmoniously.

Devastated

Through dreadful ignorance.

Now a scarred desert

Of ruin.

 

Opher – 14.7.2020

Poetry – Illusions

Posted on by Opher

Illusions

 

Living in the atmosphere of a star,

Breathing the gas exuded by plants,

Stood on a thin crust above seething magma,

Imagining we are safe.

 

Above us, the stars appear stationary

Though they move at colossal speeds.

The world seems solid

Even though the atoms spin and swirl.

 

Nothing is as it seems.

Reality is an illusion.

To think everything stays the same

Is a common delusion.

 

Opher – 12.7.2020

Poetry – The Brigands

Posted on by Opher

The Brigands

 

The brigands charged down the hill,

Swords raised,

With chilling battle cries,

Thundering hooves.

Callously and gleefully they butchered men, women and children,

Set fire to huts,

Raped, tortured and looted.

But those were the days of long ago.

 

Nothing changes.

Except, now they use drones

And ‘peacekeepers’.

 

Opher – 12.7.2020

Poetry – All Around the World

Posted on by Opher

All Around the World

 

All around the world

There are mindless men in uniform

With guns, helmets and body armour.

Trained not to think.

They no longer have minds.

They do as they are told.

 

All around the world

There are arrogant men in power

Who command their minions to do their will.

They do not care about anything

They believe they deserve everything.

We do as we are told.

 

Opher – 11.6.2020

Poetry – I will tell you the truth

Posted on by Opher

I will tell you the truth.

 

I will tell you the truth.

We do not know what the truth is.

Everyone has a vested interest in a version of the truth.

They all want to fool us.

To manipulate us,

To convince us that they are right.

None of them are right.

Some believe they are right.

Some are sure they are right.

The truth is that we do not know what is right;

Nobody can be sure of anything;

We are all guessing.

Beware the people who believe they are certain.

They are the ones to be concerned about.

Some of them are very dangerous.

Many do not care about the truth.

They simply believe what they are told

Without question;

They accept that it is the truth.

Some manufacture their own truth.

They create stories, exaggerations, perspectives,

In order to control us.

For them the truth is malleable.

They think we are stupid

And will believe anything.

They feed us lies.

Once, long ago, I thought I knew the truth.

I was naïve.

All I understood was mere opinion.

I had not experienced how complex life was

Or how devious and cynical people could be.

I now know that everything is uncertain.

That is the truth.

 

Opher – 11.7.2020

Poetry – Nature out of Lockdown

Posted on by Opher

Nature out of Lockdown

 

Into our lockdown

Nature’s set free.

Stoats flow across the road

In front of me.

Buzzards circle high in the sky

And a hare bounds down the lane.

A barn owl swoops low over a hedge

That is full of a rich refrain.

Finch and warbler

In uninterrupted song,

Loud and clear

All day long.

We’re locked in our homes

Nature no longer under attack.

The world has come alive!

Nature is back!

 

Opher – 9.6.2020