We Are Still Kissing Catastrophe’s Cusp Today.
Today
the sky is a crystalline blue dome dotted with cotton balls,
the ground is a luscious tangle of greenery and growth,
and the water is a finely polished window into another world
and if you closed your eyes,
the scent of the earth’s ichor might waft up to your nose
the creatures of sky, earth, and water may decide to serenade you with their symphonic choir
the wind might carry the taste of ozone, a purifying thunderstorm brewing nearby
the rain might shower the world’s grime off your skin and cease so raw sunshine might kiss dry the drops running down your cheeks
But, that is for Today.
for tomorrow,
the world will not be the same.
Tomorrow
the sky will be a swath of smoke and it will rain fire and ash,
the ground will be a barren, parched wasteland of spiderweb cracks,
and the water will be a muddied mess of the dead and soon to die
and if you closed your eyes,
the stench of rot will creep into your nostrils and plague your every breath
the cacophony of creatures’ cries will peck and claw their way past your eardrums and tear at your mind
the apocalyptic smoky gauze choking the sky will find its way to your mouth and sear its aftertaste onto your tongue
the acid rain will eat you alive and the sun that will break out of the clouds will flay the pink flesh beneath your melanin
But, that is for Tomorrow.
for today,
the world is not that.
Yet.
But, even with Today’s purity,
we must worry about Tomorrow’s corruption
because we are kissing the Cusp of Catastrophe,
allowing its bloodied hands to take take take from us,
and give give give
Nothing and Death in return
Nothing as the insidious Catastrophe worms its war through the World and poisons our senses.
Death as Catastrophe robs us of the Life inside the plants, the animals, the water, us, and the World.
And yet, we are still kissing the Cusp of Catastrophe today,
while the grass is still a healthy green and the untainted sky glows
Knowing,
once today is over,
the grass will yellow and wilt and the sky will become a smothering blanket of ash
But it is still Today,
a day when we can pull away and distance ourselves from Catastrophe
because tomorrow might be Tomorrow
and we are almost out of time
and we cannot postpone
because tomorrow might be Tomorrow
unless we stop kissing Catastrophe’s Cusp Today.
About this poem
Frustrated by the inaction of governments and industrial powerhouses while knowing the world is approaching a global warming doomsday, I wrote 'We Are Still Kissing Catastrophe's Cusp Today' to paint the picture of what we could see in the future. I wanted to draw attention between 'Today' and 'Tomorrow' because a lot of the rhetoric used regarding climate change is in reference to the future and goals for the future. Little attention is paid to what could be done today. And what should be done today, or as soon as possible, is the cessation of activities detrimental to the world's health. more »
Written on July 28, 2022
Submitted by ariananazem on July 30, 2022
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 2:15 min read
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Quick analysis:
Scheme | axxb Cdefx agx ghxf Cxxxi gaxx jijxxx xb adxeh ajGxxGa |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic hexameter |
Characters | 2,313 |
Words | 451 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 5, 3, 4, 5, 4, 6, 2, 5, 7 |
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"We Are Still Kissing Catastrophe’s Cusp Today." Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/133959/we-are-still-kissing-catastrophe’s-cusp-today.>.
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