As we move into space age,
Man his power to prove,
Mother Nature in a rage,
Mountains start to move.

Freak weather: hailstones in spring,
Heatwaves in winter;
Pity every living thing,
And flowers that wither.

Deep inside me
I seek what is behold
But I worry
That time has yet to fold

For climate change
And going insane
Are both things
That seem to slowly elevate

Except as the years pass
Alas the speed of change
Picks up its pace
Ice caps soon to disintegrate

And this leaves my insides cold
Apprehension takes a hold
For I fear
The end would be quite drear
And by then every mind
Would be locked inside
A body ready for chaos to unfold

So to stop this
We must not just grab hope
But grab our voices and our feet
And set out to stop our worlds defeat

For to stop this heat
Action is what we need
And we must impede
These greenhouse gases
That people seem to often release

And we must hug the Earth
For it’s here children birth
And grasslands grow
And animals live before death takes hold

So love the Earth
As it loves you
And one day your grandchildren
Will be able to love it too

since i was small,
i wanted to live forever.

every dawn is a hit of reality
and i’m eager for another.
and another.
and another.

i exhale, my cool breath hitting the air -
flavored with desperation;
is it so wrong to want more?

i wilt, only slightly, thinking about the end.

when i slouch in my chair,
i feel my heart shift closer to the soil at my feet

and i do not sink in the midst
of the flood -
i do not lose myself in the rainwater
pooling at my ankles -
i do not clench my eyes shut,
fearing where i will go
when i do

i need this more than you,
i swear.

and when i feel the back of the chair
digging into my spine
or the quiet, creeping ache of age
tugging on strands of my hair,
i resist; i deny it

the adrenaline of dawn’s kiss
is my defense against the rot,
but the night reminds me
of being small with skinned knees and a medicated wish.

i surrender, subject to the infestation of memory -
yet, my oldest prayer continues to echo
in every inch of this room:

sempervirens, sempervirens
(always green, always green)

Pitter Patter
Along the ground
Sometimes silent
Sometimes deafening

They never stop
But when they do
Their life has been taken
Or they've stepped on you

Not too small
Not too big
Who do they belong to?
Do you know yet?

Ever heard an elephant stomp?
A mouse scratching along the floor?
These sounds radically different
Yet something we can't ignore

The question isn't the sound
But rather the footprint
As we all sport a unique one
But which one truly is the biggest?

Some would think, elephant
Probably not you though
Maybe even a dinosaur?
Don't let your mind overflow

It's as simple as you think
Most have already figured it out
Now go outside, take a heavy step
Make an imprint.

Is it all coming together?
It should have already
Us as humans
We're the most deadly

No matter how big it is
To the eye it's small
But we reign supreme here
On this earth, our home

Next time you see a print
Be it Dog, Cat, Lion, or Deer
The calendar lies
It's always our year.