In the midst of the night
When silence surrounds
A terrible tragedy was waiting to be found
Tom, a small child, sat up in his bed
Pulling the duvet up over his head
He silently shook
Scared to speak out
Not knowing what the rumbling noise outside was about
Tom slowly rose from his bed
He went to find his parents room
They would know what to do
When Tom reached the room he sought
The number of Parents it contained, was nought
Quietly Tom tiptoed down the stairs
Careful not to bump into any chairs
Still, any adults he couldn’t find
Home Alone the movie, sprang to mind
He searched for the switch on the wall
From which a glowing light would fall
Tom shed some light upon the floor
And lit the path to the back door
Bravely he turned the handle
And quietly walking in his sandals
Took a sneaky peek outside
He couldn’t believe what he saw
His eyes stretched very wide
The biggest tree Tom had ever seen, in his very short life, had fallen down!
And all the adults Tom had sought plus others, were standing in a circle looking at the tree
They were trying to devise a plan, they could all agree
“How did it happen?” Tom heard someone say
“I know,” said Tom who was very bright
“Maybe I can shed some light”
“I heard a man on the news say, climate change is happening not tomorrow but today”
Tom continued “very soon the Planet as we know it, will be changed, from excessive heat and excessive rain”
“But today where we live in the Forest, men are cutting down the trees”
“to allow progress and build roads for cars, we are taking away the Earth’s lungs to breathe”
The adults listened to what Tom had to say and all agreed with the young lad.
But what to do about it, if they did nothing, then very soon
There would be no green areas for the children to play, and this made the group very sad.
The group decided to raise a petition and present it to the Top
Cutting down healthy trees must now stop
For every tree we cut down, new ground for seedlings must be found
As a Town, we could do more
No more plastic bags, something we should explore
Recycling our waste, we must unite
Let’s start thinking about our carbon footprint tonight
Make a change to our electricity and our gas, someone explained
We could purchase energy that is made 100% from wind sun and rain.
Tom couldn’t believe what he was seeing and hearing
Here in his back garden, a council meeting was taking place
Agendas were being made
It was only a small step in Toms world but all the same
If this was happening over and over in other Towns around the world, there would be bigger rewards to gain
And not just in Toms world either but all around the Globe
Fishes would live longer no plastic bags to get caught in their gills or small plastic pellets to ingest
This would be one change they could immediately put to the test.
They would have a plastic bag amnesty; people could return their old plastic bags and get a town embossed shopping bag made from 100% cotton thread
The adults were elated with the changes they were to make
They were hoping to see the changes make a difference where they lived
It was only a little effort but it showed such promise to give
Tom was excited and tired
Retreated back to bed
He could rest now, his Town was in safe hands
His Mum and Dad plus others stayed outside to make their plans
Sometimes it takes a small person to pick up a big fight
This started out as a different Poem altogether, it was going to be full of angst and mystery. Turns out I don't write angst and mystery very well.
As I started writing the poem and it was obvious which direction I was taking the poem I realised people would automatically think of Greta Thunberg and the wonderful job that young lady is doing but for me, this poem is about all the young people at school primary, secondary, colleges who are engaged in environmental days and projects.
Most children these days either through news or school or home know what climate change is and that has to be a good thing, doesn't it?