Nearly fourteen billion years ago
Our incredible universe clang
With an incomprehensible blast:
The super miraculous, awesome Big Bang!
 
It’s hard to fathom the age of the universe,
But even consider the age of dear Earth:
Nine billion years after the Bang
The universe witnessed our planet’s birth!
 
Despite the billions of years in the making,
Mankind’s time on this planet’s been brief.
But in our short period of time here on Earth
We’ve certainly caused our planet some grief.
 
Yes, two hundred thousand years of evolving
And look: we can walk on two legs! But despite
All of those thousands of years of development,
We still haven’t managed to get some things right!
 
To our foolish carelessness,
The demise of how many species is linked?
(To our credit, at least no one
Can say we made the dinosaurs extinct!)
 
Efforts by zoos and societies to save
Endangered species have been put in place;
At the same time we continue to threaten
Other species at a frightening pace.
 
Think of all the chopping and drilling
And digging and fracking that we’re pursuing;
Add to that the contamination:
The poisoning, spilling, and polluting we’re doing.
 
We know that Earth’s temperature is rising;
Glaciers continue to melt every day.
Weather’s more fickle with storms more destructive.
To solve this you’ll have to do more than just pray.
 
What a shame that certain leaders
Remain antagonistic to facts.
How people fall for such careless denial...
What a heavy toll this exacts!
 
We’re lucky to have this beautiful world;
We’re lucky to share it with others and enjoy it.
But we will have to pay the piper
If we continue to abuse and destroy it.

- by Bob B