Plea of an Unborn Child
Dearly beloved Mother, you
are, just now,
the only person to whom I
can talk.
You are my sustenance, my
comfort,
my very life; and it will
be much the same
up to and beyond that
special day when I can walk.
Today I want to ask you
that you will do all you
can to ensure
the world into which I
will be born
will sustain me and your
grandchildren,
and not be so hideously transformed
that we will find it
impossible to live without fear
of disasters, even wars, brought
about
by too much or too little
water, violent winds,
extremes of cold and heat:
and a probability of
having to weep all-too-frequent tears.
Please,please, listen to discerning,
careful, forward-thinking
scientists
and whenever possible,
tell those who pursue the
relentless exploitation of fossil fuels -
and everything that
follows in its wake -
that you need them to draw
it to a rapid halt, for my sake
and for every single
child of my generation.
Please go on marches,
write indignant letters,
organise petitions,
argue with vehement
determination,
that I and all of us-in-waiting
may not have to mourn the
earth,
but live as you would no doubt
have us live,
to welcome our children
in the fullness of time,
with joyous celebrating.
Same topic in a shorter poem Extending The Life of the Planet #ELP and other poems with similar themes can be found in the CARE OF THE PLANET collection
