Is This The Future Poem by Connie Wine

Black pools of tainted water,
air heavy with poisonous gases,
fertile farmland paved over,
all in the name of progress.

Trees with leaves that no longer turn green,
sky so heavy with smog it is no longer blue,
heat so unbearable it is hard to breathe,
cold so icy it tears into your soul.

Mountains of garbage instead of beautiful trees,
grapes rotting on the vines,
corn so hard and brittle
it cannot be eaten.

Bars on all the windows and doors,
there is only danger on the streets after dark:
don't offer help to a stranger
for he may stab you for a few pennies.

Hoarding all that you can hoard,
share nothing with your neighbor;
close your ears to the sound of the small child
being beaten up every night

Hate everyone else because of the color of their skin,
send our young men and women off to die,
we think not of how to take a stand
but only where to hide.

The future seems to be here now
and unless we change our ways,
there will be no future for our children.
there will be no future for our world.

We must pick up the garbage and we
must take care of the farmland;
we should forget about the new parking lots
and let the land heal.

We need to figure out how to use what we have
and to respect Mother Earth


spiritraven (Connie Wine) 09/23/09