When we are gone
And all that is left
Is a planet bereft
Of living souls

Will it matter
Who’s to blame
When none remain
To bear the shame
Of our downfall?

When we are gone
And it won’t be long
What will we leave behind?
Our legacies

Disposable things
Hoarded dreams
And fatal insistences
That everything will be fine

When We Are Gone

For the first time in a long time
I grab a plastic sandwich bag
Out of the drawer.
Wracked with guilt
I try to tell myself
It’s not the end of the world
And I’ll try harder 
To be greener tomorrow.
I wonder 
If that’s what the oil companies think too


NCL September 2019