Press Pause - An Environmental Poem Poem by David J Lindsay

Brave was our fight, just to survive
To hunt, to gather, then farm.
Our numbers so small, survival so special,
Don't press pause now, or you'll cause us harm.

Our tribal ancestors rose and spread
Touching and burning each day
Through land and resources, learning some balance,
Can we press pause now? - No way!

Centuries pass, and we learn to master
The nature around with our brains.
Civilisation, industrialisation.
Don't press pause now - think of our capital gains!

Empires. Left and right-wing warfare
Ignoring the poverty gap
20th century pause for reflection?
We're too busy killing - for that 'clap trap'!

Now we number some 7 billion and more
Yet we still refuse to pause.
Mother Nature might choose to blow her whistle
Call time, upset that we've broke all her laws

She could pause and take a big healthy breath
Maybe freeze, burn or polish the earth
If we're lucky enough, a few would survive,
And with huge pain and suffering give birth

To a new generation, forgetting the past
Forgetting to pause to stop harm. They'll say
Brave was our fight, just to survive
To hunt, to gather, then farm.