Good Morning Listeners

The earth is ablaze already: https://fires.globalforestwatch.org/map/

When the brutal grip

of misery is clamped

around your heart,

it's bony fingers squeezing,

pumping black, angry bile

through your veins,

it is hard to pretend.

 

Hard to wear the mask of

happiness and contentment

that we so readily seek,

and that is so expected

in order to keep our place

in the queue of civil society's

honours list,

when all the putrid pain

that prosecutes potential,

seeps from every pore

to sit in an intoxicating

vile stink upon our skin.

 

When we dream a higher

dream of days filled with

notions of happiness and

love and freedom, are we

but deluded lunatics?

 

Are we but frivolous fools

set to fall upon a nightmare

filled with hungry werewolves

and the stumbling, empty

carcasses  of our zombie

leaders who push us

bit by bit,

day after day,

towards Dante's infernal  inferno.

 

We, it seems,

have no stomachs for the fight

for justice for ourselves,

or for those deposed,

disenfranchised wretches

who slip silently into hell's

jaws each and every day.

 

Or to avoid the abyss

upon which humankind

now teeters.

 

And thus we reap

Satan's reward.

 

You don't believe me?

 

Look at the Amazon

burning.

Look at the wildfires

raging in California,

Portugal,

France,

Australia,

Greece,

Russia,

Africa,

Ecuador,

Mexico,

Norway,

Finland,

India,

China,

South East Asia,

Japan,

Indonesia,

Canada and

Chile.

 

Now tell me the earth

is not burning.

 

25/08/19

Author's Note

Reviews

[Robert Trakofler]

perhaps this year we will circumvent winter entirely the only solemn at this point is the knowledge that this current blip of geographic time will end and a new life form will arise from the ashes. Maybe our example will save the next life form for self annihilation:)

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Perhaps we will avoid the winter of our discontent indeed Robert. One can only hope we survive long enough to continue cleansing the earth for a longer term future. Many thank yous.

[gram linski]

enjoyed the way you used the burning planet for metaphor of decay of in society, some great poetic lines, the world is indeed aflame,them dam pesky Mayans were right, 2112 ...

[John Alexander McFadyen]

And cheers for them there lines bro! And I did give you a mention in the credits lol.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Ah but that was the previous piece lol!

[alanwgraham]

I believe everything we write about this frightening future contributes first to awareness and hopefully to a solution. We will all need to reevaluate out lives and contribute our own bit. You have made a great contribution to this John with this poem
Regards
Alan

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Thank you Alan and you are of course right. we must act as individuals but also collectively.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

"fire and ice" as Frost asked...which way is best to go?
but you are right...so many natural disasters...and some that have been started unnaturally....
i really telling poem of how it is...we cannot ignore.
j.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Don't think it is a coincidence that half the world is on fire Jacob. Take a look at the link. Many thanks.

[John the Baptist]

Not your basic upper here. Actually rather apocalyptic. Had no idea so many places were currently affected by fires. Makes one want to pray for a hurricane.

[John Alexander McFadyen]

What to fan the flames? lol I did not mention half of the places on fire. Google the link I provided, it will scare the hell out of you. Thank you for reading JTB