Skeletal Existence

seeking comfort in a walk-in closet
this little room is spared
as a forest preserve ridiculously reserved
for leftover green space incorrectly prepared

cigarette butts against our soles
again and again and again
smoke stacks the air until acid rains
throwaways litter mother’s sensitive skin
her pathways have become paper trails
when no one’s looking the common good fails

we subtract life’s essence with knowing hands
with mindless rituals of the manicured lawn
rake nutrients; add fertilizer, plant killer, water
coexisting with nature has been withdrawn
as unkind man advances, the environment recedes
like fiber and flesh that can’t breathe

on a park bench in a walk-in closet
will my children find Earth has gone the distance
or the ecosystem in clear plastic containers
and life decidedly a skeletal existence

[From Eloquence: Rhythm & Renaissance by Usiku at http://www.usiku.net]

Click here to purchase the hardcover edition or e-book for yourself or as a gift.

All this talk about the ecology is wonderful. We are beginning to accept responsibility for our planet whose declining health has come at our hands. Hopefully talk will give rise to sustainable practices that increase understanding and appreciation. I'm half-afraid we are simply “Eco” prefixing: attaching quick (pre) fixes to programs as appeasements to the fad of the moment.

We'll know we're serious about eco-mindfulness when individuals, businesses, schools, not-for profits and governments are doing more each year. It will be confirmed when the human race is a race to see who can do the least to harm the earth. We'll know we've achieved Eco-Consciousness when our efforts are internalized and coordinated. Eco-points will then be a part of every mission statement, not just appended programs.

By the way, many of us were ecologically-minded when Eco wasn't cool. There was no word for it we were just trying to use and not misuse what was so abundantly and freely given. We had the whole world in our hands. This is the kind of power we still have. If we use this power to do something by doing less, the ecology will cure itself.