The Agony of Mother Nature
By Apolinario Villalobos
Her womb brought forth life of many sorts
On top of the list is man – wise, clever, shrewd
A creature so sharp, with ego that knows no bound
He, whose selfishness buoyed him up from the ground.
At the start, his simple desire brought him food
Also, skins and leaves to cover his bare fragile frame
Then, his carnal yearnings brought him abundant broods
Who later inhabited vast lands – plains, valleys, and woods.
Man’s desire has no end, never satisfied, not a bit
He not only breached, what to others are sacred realms
Unmindful and blind to what will be the consequence –
Even daring to break Mother Nature’s idyllic, blissful silence.
Greed drove man to scalp mountains of their trapping –
Verdant and lush forests felled by indiscriminate burning
Reverberating screams of chainsaws fill nooks and crevices
Drowning panicky bird calls and their desperate screeches.
Immaculate white and sandy beaches strewn with shells
Though, still practically fringe undiscovered islands and coves
May no longer be what they are now, as found by those lucky
For their days are numbered just like the rest, now drowned in misery.
Islands pockmarked with diggings for much-coveted minerals
Pitifully barf residue to rivers, lakes, coves, even gurgling springs
While man grins his widest for the cash, illicitly and cruelly gained
Mother Nature just cringe in agony, abused, that for long she pained.
The air that man breaths for whiffs of comfort, relief, and dear life –
Now has become a mist of poison, the scourge of his irresponsibility
For bringing forth metallic contraptions belching toxin just everywhere
And even break auditory succor, shaking the world with so much clatter.
With Mother Nature in agony –
man is left…alone,
to determine his destiny!
