While the Earth Burns...

Credible scientists

Agree, and it is quite concerning.

We are seeing destructive effects

Of global warming: Earth is burning.

Brazilian agri-business has been

Carelessly throwing fuel on the fire,

Destroying the "lungs" of our planet and making

The situation even more dire.

 

The Amazon's on fire right now.

Fires are taking a heavy toll

In places all around the world.

The conflagration is out of control.

 

As heat-trapping gasses are

Released into the atmosphere,

Glaciers melt and oceans grow warmer,

Making hurricanes more severe.

 

Between climate change deniers

And a warming earth, we're in the middle,

And as Earth burns our president

Watches while he plays his fiddle.

 

Now he wants to roll back restrictions,

Erasing rules on methane emissions.

Methane as a heat-trapping gas

Will only worsen climate conditions.

 

With all his environmental rollbacks,

There is NO silver lining.

He wants to open Alaskan national

Forests to logging, drilling, and mining.

 

If there is a method to damage our

Environment, he will employ it.

Rather than fight to protect our earth,

The president would rather destroy it!

 

With all the damage Trump is doing,

If anyone says on his behalf

That he's an environmentalist,

All we can say is, "That's a laugh!"

 

-by Bob B (8-30-19)

Reviews

[Rhayne]

And this one is really no laughing matter. You've penned this one so very well. Your talent for using words is incredible. I love reading these and at the same time, I wish you never had to write them. I wish there had never been a reason to. But sense there are so many reasons, keep it up.

[Bob B]

I know what you mean. How I wish that I didn’t have to write some of these poems! But when I am moved or compelled to make a statement, I have to do it. Some don’t like my style, but you can’t please everyone. Thanks for reading some of them.

[Rhayne]

Some of them? I've gone down the list. lol And I've enjoyed reading all of them. Maybe I didn't comment on all, but that doesn't mean I didn't like what you had to say. It's because I was speechless.

[Bob B]

Cool. I am glad that they have struck a chord. One of my favorite poems of the ones I have written is called “Lucita.” It is a few years old.

[JayG]

• Credible scientists agree, and it is quite concerning. We are seeing destructive effects of global warming: Earth is burning.

Chopping a factual statement into short lines does not make it a poem. There's a lot more to it. Poetry makes use of vivid and evocative language. Poetry tends to have an emotional content, and evoke emotion in the reader. It flows, and they say, "Trippingly from the tongue."

• The Amazon's on fire right now.

It is, but not due to global warming. Those fires were deliberately set to clear the land so as to graze cattle. And it was done with the president's help and approval. Research, research, research.

For a better idea of some of the aspects of what makes poetry what it is, take a look at the excerpt for Stephen Fry's, The Ode Less Traveled, on Amazon. It's primarily oriented toward structured poetry, but what he has to say about word flow is useful for any kind of writer.

[Bob B]

Regarding the fires in the Amazon, I am well aware of the stance of the climate change-denying leader of Brazil and his influence on agri-business. I know the fires in the rain forest are not CAUSED by global warming, but they are not helping the ongoing problem.
I can respect your opinion of what makes a poem. Poetry can make use of evocative language; it doesn't have to. Poetry can have emotional content; it doesn't have to. Poetry can be metaphorical; it doesn't have to be. Poetry can flow "trippingly from the tongue"; it doesn't have to. Opinions will vary as to the definition of poetry as they will to what makes art. I aim for a particular style that is conversational, often balladesque, direct, and unambiguous.

[JayG]

• I know the fires in the rain forest are not CAUSED by global warming, but they are not helping the ongoing problem.

But as presented, it gives the reader the impression that's the reason for the fires. Your intent doesn't make it to the page, so mentioning it at that spot misdirects the reader. Clarifying later cannot retroactively remove the confusion. Always edit as a reader, knowing only what the words suggest, based on their background, not your intent.

• Poetry can make use of evocative language; it doesn't have to.

Without the three points you list it's nonfiction writing—an essay, presented in small bites.