Let me start by saying that I'm not much of a poet. I have spent three years at a college studying the environment and science, meaning it is very disheartening as I watch career after career slandered by our current government. I worry about our planet a lot, and these are just some of my thoughts.

A long while ago, there was this thing called Earth

now Earth, in all of its roundness, was a constantly changing thing,

sometimes it was hot

other times it was cold

surrounded by gases

inhabited by tiny bacteria

That was Earth.

These tiny bacteria eventually evolved into organisms,

and as the Earth changed,

So did the organisms.

We call these organisms a multifarious of names:

ant

bee

cow;

And eventually, along came us.

Us includes you and me,

the person sitting next me and millions of miles away from you,

Regardless of their race, gender, religion, sexual identity,

We are included in that “us.”

We came at a time when our planet wasn’t changing,

afterall it had been the same for thousands of years,

But we changed it.

One day we figured out how to increase our gaseous output,

we started planting more plants

(But only the plants we wanted)

we started raising animals

(But only the animals we wanted)

we didn’t know what we were doing.

The 1940’s came and no one heeded their warning,

Silent Spring was published, and yet we continued pumping more gas,

Scientists thought they knew where the tipping point was in 1980,

but little did they know just how close we were.

2004 hit with massive storms

we knew we messed up,

we crossed that tipping point - and didn’t even know it.

We cried and cried,

WHERE IS OUR EARTH?

Not in the drought stricken land,

Or the places of mass flood,

Certainly not near the melting ice,

Or the warm January weather.

We changed the Earth.

Politicians fight on this issue,

Some ignore the change - saying its not there,

Others try to combat the change

A third group just turns their head.

Our changed Earth is here to stay

- to continually change -

And all I’m asking,

Is that we stop changing it.

Let’s keep the insects and bugs,

Let’s keep our water,

Our Earth is already changed,

But let’s not make it change anymore.