Enough is Enough

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Why is it, I wonder, that many world leaders are only just waking up to the threat of climate change and facing up to their responsibilities, at least as far as gathering material for speeches intended to impress the electorate is concerned; sadly, much of that same electorate remains under the illusion that global warming is some kind of capitalist conspiracy propagated by those most likely to gain from it.

 If it is a rule of thumb never to underestimate one’s adversary, never was it more of a truism than in the context of humankind v nature; in the longer term, at least, and – let’s face it – as far as our time here on Earth is concerned, it’s the longer term that really matters. 

How can those of us who so love to engage with the natural world excuse years of  failing to speak up in its defence... albeit, until now, any protests have fallen on deaf ears and/or justify such in the name of 'progress' or (worse) leisure interests? Yes, that's human nature and better to progress than regress...but  we can hardly expect nature to keep paying the price it is expected to pay without making any protest.  

There comes a time when, for any of us, enough is enough; for Earth Mother, I suspect that time is now;  humankind needs must to make reparation before it is too late.... if it is not too late already. Hope, though, springs eternal and they do say "Better late than never." 😉

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

Oh, world of love and beauty,
nature’s glory all around;
sadly, a devil’s cruelty in Man’s
own story found

Oh, world, such creatures in it
of every shape and colour;
Man, bent on killing off the planet
for an easy dollar

Oh, Eden, long since abandoned,
History repeating its mistakes;
lion kings in eco-zoos, mercenaries
raising the stakes

Oh, world, defying an ozone crack,
beware! Nature’s fighting back...

Earth Mother, inclined to cut up rough,
"Enough is enough...!"

Copyright R. N. Taber 2001; rev. 2021

[Note: This poem has been slightly but significantly revised since it first appeared under the title 'Global Warning' in an anthology – A Celebration of Verse, Anchor Books, 2001 - and subsequently in my collection, First Person Plural, Assembly Books, 2001.]

 

Kingdom Come, an Eco-Artist's Impression

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Today's poem first appeared on the blog in 2010

While  the coronavirus is not on the wane everywhere just yet, and second waves of it are all but inevitable, climate change is unlikely to go away at all; we only have to look at what is happening in Iceland to see how real is the threat that has been looming across the world for years, and underestimated - if not conveniently put to one side - by successive world leaders. A reader asks, do I think Covid-19 could be linked to climate change? Well, I have no idea, any more than I suspect has anyone else, but I wouldn't be surprised ...

What are we doing to the planet? How many more trees must be felled, wildlife lose their habitats (and lives) on land and in the seas before humankind realizes how short sighted it is being? (The old adage is so true, that we rarely - if ever - appreciate what we have until we lose it.)

Will future generations forgive us? (I suspect with great difficulty, if at all.)

It is all very well to acknowledge global warming, but how much longer can we shrug off any blame for it? it? The time to make reparation is by positive action NOW, surely? How many more world conferences and all but meaningless gestures before our politicians risk upsetting this lobby or that and get to grips with the longer-term consequences of playing ostrich?

Too lightly, many people continue to brush such questions and issues aside. After all, they argue, there is plenty of time to save the planet.

Ah, but is there…? It is an old but significant truism that time waits for no one.

Yes, our politicians claim to empathise with Green campaigners, but could they perhaps do (far) more to back up their word with actions…or could it be they are but paying lip service to increasing electorate (and business) concerns?

At school, I once overheard my Religious Education teacher refer to Armageddon as 'the death of  common sense' to which my art teacher commented that it would be an appropriate theme for graffiti art among the corridors of power just about anywhere in the world. 70+ years on, I am inclined to agree with both.

How dare our so-called 'betters' be complacent, close their eyes to unpalatable home truths for fear of losing out in the short term. Too many politicians are hot on rhetoric, at election times in particular, but - as always - the devil is in the detail, and invariably less convincing for anyone who has the time or patience to shovel away  at the rhetoric and see what lies beneath..

Another reader wrote in recently to ask, "We are a common humanity on a common Earth so where is any sense of common responsibility regarding Green issues?"

KINGDOM COME, AN ECO-ARTIST'S IMPRESSION

The sky is red

where once it was blue;

trees turning yellow;

streams, trickles of blood

on a baby's cot...

Time, caught taking a nap

in Earth Mother’s bed

The forest is dead

where once trees grew tall,

birds would nest,

one beast best another

as required…

by nature’s rule of thumb,

its kingdom come

The world, gone quiet

where once people played,

would laugh and sing,

yet sure to best one another

as required …

by nature’s rule of thumb,

our kingdom come

The sky is red

where once it was blue;

trees, turning yellow;

Earth Mother last heard of

treading mud,

weeping the world’s playing

Truth or Dare...?

Copyright R. N. Taber 2020

To Apollo, Over

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

[Update. March 19th 2020]: The coronavirus, COVID 19, is spreading worldwide and various Governments feel obliged to take various emergency measures; it all smacks of Big Brother to me although needs must we act responsibly and conform to a whole new socio-cultural-political mind-set. Whatever, let's stay calm folks, use our common sense, trust our basic survival instincts and we will get though what appears to be the worst global crisis since the second world war. Remember that thousands of people die of flu every year; while this corona virus appears to be far more serious than an outbreak of influenza, we all need to stay positive and help each other as best we can. The sick  and elderly, are as always, the most vulnerable among us so we especially need to rally on their behalf, even if it means getting to know neighbours who are all but strangers. Me? I will be 75 later this year and have been living with prostate cancer since 2011. I live alone, but will stay in touch with friends by phone if mobility becomes severely restricted by any temporary legislation. Meanwhile, I continue to take each day as it comes, and hope for the best ...]

Meanwhile ...

Old gods, new ways, first dawn, last sunset…world ending with a bang or a whimper, I wonder?

Nature may well hold most if not all the answers, but wears them close to its heart, and who can blame it given humankind’s compulsion for getting its own way no matter who gets hurt or what damage done in the process…?

Nature, of course, will endure long after humanity has failed to learn from its worst mistakes; one of these being underestimating climate change for which we, of course, are (all) ultimately responsible.

As for humankind, we can but trust those faceless mandarins stalking the corridors of power across the world may yet be named and shamed, replaced by those whose feeling for humanity and humankind’s obsession with pastures new is not above demonstrating some old-fashioned common sense.

TO APOLLO, OVER 

Broken statues in the dust,
marking many a historic dawn,
shooting long shadows 

Far, far, these shadows fly
across our much-damaged land
like many arrows 

Into a poor scholar’s dugout
an arrow makes its presence felt
at Apollo’s early rising 

Red sun shining on our dust,
revealing broken statues weeping
and bleeding for us

 Copyright R. N. Taber 1999; 2020

 [Note: This poem has been slightly revised from an earlier version that first appeared in the poetry magazine Meridian (1999) and subsequently in Love and Human Remains by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2001]

 

Earth Rage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

As a poet whose poetry is archived by the British Library and elsewhere, I try to record major events - including natural disasters - around the world for future reference. Sadly, I have to be selective, but try to write about the worst, especially those that have affected me deeply and cried out for a poem.  I often revert to the villanelle form - as I do here - and can but hope readers will find it effective.

Although these poems are archival now, they serve as reminders all that climate change is no new phenomenon; nature has been sending out warning signals for years. More we should never forget the impact natural disasters have on families and communities around the world; it is not enough to blame nature, humankind needs to accept its own share of blame and take appropriate action before it is too late for any of us 

On March 11^th 2011 an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale struck the north-eastern coast of Japan. Although Tokyo is some 200+ miles from the epicentre, it some suffered some damage if incomparable with the utter devastation a Tsunami that quickly followed left in its wake further along the coast. Shocking, live TV coverage inspired the poem.

EARTH RAGE

Nature raging, run amok,
tsunami taking its toll;
Tokyo's reeling in shock

Japan having to take stock
of losses stark and cruel;
nature raging, run amok

Ground rolling, hear it crack,
folks wrestling self-control;
Tokyo's reeling in shock

Across islands of the Pacific,
find fear draping its pall,
nature raging, run amok

As its stunned surrounds rock,
the good earth making a kill,
Tokyo's reeling in shock

Humanity taken a cruel knock,
nor all its wounds soon heal;
nature raging, run amok,
Tokyo's reeling in shock

[London; March 11th 2011]

Copyright R. N. Taber

Floods of Fear

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

[Update: From February to April 2019, widespread flash flooding affected large parts of Pakistan, most severely in Balochistan, KPK, Punjab, and other provinces. ... The main areas affected were Turbat, Tump, Nasirabad and Dasht where 300 people were displaced due to the flood.]
Dare I suggest climate change is not as recent a phenomenon as some people are suggesting, not to mention as many others who remain in denial.?


The 2010 Pakistan floods directly affected an estimated 14-20 million people, and killed over 1,700. Nearly 1.1 million homes were damaged or destroyed, and at least 436 health care facilities were destroyed. The floods in Pakistan began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and, Balochistan regions of Pakistan, which affected the Indus River basin.

Nature alone is not to blame. Humanity is polluting its earth, air, seas and rivers, and we need to start taking our individual responsibilities to the planet seriously before it is too late. Too many people don't even recycle waste, even where facilities are provided, and do not see it as their problem; we all need to do what we can...or it will be left to future generations to suffer the consequences and pick up whatever pieces may be left. 

Past-present-future is a continuum for which we all need to shoulder some responsibility instead of shrugging off the likes of climate change as fake news or as of no immediate personal concern to us so let other people clean up our mess...

FLOODS OF FEAR

Floods of fear confronting Pakistan,

indiscriminate, rich and poor;

terrorism no less a threat than rain

Now and then, the worst monsoon

breaks down the strongest door;

floods of fear confronting Pakistan

Pain and grief as the world looks on

(some say could, should do more);

terrorism no less a threat than rain

Those left homeless, no peace plan

for reconstructing their future;

floods of fear confronting Pakistan

Across the border with Afghanistan

some two-way trafficking for sure;

floods of fear confronting Pakistan

Aid on its way, can’t arrive too soon;

nature wreaking sickness and more;

floods of fear confronting Pakistan;

terrorism, no less a threat than rain

Copyright R. N. Taber 2010

INDUS RISING

Swathes of the Indus rising

where homes stood, crops grew,

men, women, children dying

It’s live in tents or nothing

whom the monsoon rains pursue;

swathes of the Indus rising

Millions have lost everything,

aid taking its time to filter through;

men, women, children dying

Cases of cholera spreading

like a terrorist nightmare come true;

swathes of the Indus rising

The stink of bodies floating

where nature’s wrath spares but few;

men, women, children dying

Human spirit near breaking,

yet its promises to mend ringing true;

swathes of the Indus rising;

men, women, children dying

Copyright R. N. Taber 2010

[Note: Both poems appear in Tracking the Torchbearer by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2012.]

[

Lines on last-ditch Damage Limitation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Better late than never, humankind appears to be finally waking up to its responsibility to preserve as much of the natural world as it can, given the damage already inflicted upon it in the name of progress.

Let us not kid ourselves, though. Time, always determined to go its own way regardless, is not on our side. If we want to save the planet and all manner of species that have known no other habitat, we all need to pull together now;   each and every one of us doing our bit to save energy, lower carbon emissions drastically if not entirely, think Green instead of relying on others to do so, thereby easing conscience and any sense of responsibility (providing we concede either) … and, yes, we might just save a world worth living in for future generations.

Our young people and their descendants deserve better than the kind of apathy so many people in the Here-and-Now continue to exhibit towards such issues as conservation, regeneration, improving air quality and cleaning up our rivers, seas and oceans - to name just a few. As I see it, quality of life is more important than life for its own sake, and if we don’t all start showing the natural world greater respect now, future generations will be seeing red, not green, and blaming twenty-first century apathy, greed, and an egocentricity beyond belief.

I had a conversation along these lines with someone in a shop recently while queuing to be served. This person took the view that “at least old people like yourself have no cause to worry about what might happen. Even if the worst comes to the worst, you’ll be long gone.”

But I do worry, and so should we all, regardless of who we are or where in the world we live or there may well come a time when it will be too late to worry about what might happen because it already has …

LINES ON LAST-DITCH DAMAGE LIMITATION

In a world top-heavy with pain and grief,

it takes but a butterfly caught in a ray

of sunshine to remind us that Earth Mother

is on our side, each and every minute

of each and every day, ready to give us

a hug when we need it most, remind us life

may be but a fleeting thing yet beautiful

and all the more precious and worth savouring

every moment for that

In a world top-heavy with pain and grief,

it takes but the laughter of a child

running to its mother across home ruins

war, terror or an angry Earth Mother

may well have tried to get across a message

invariably ignored by forces intent only

on making themselves heard above any calls

for peace, love, reconciliation, agreeing to differ

in a so-divided world

In a world top-heavy with pain and grief,

it is good to wake to a dawn chorus,

provided by its birds among trees acting

as Guardians of the Earth since birth

if poorly served in return by we saboteurs

of the natural world so accustomed

to putting our needs first that we forgot

humankind needs see to co-existing responsibly

with nature or pay dearly

Listen. Hear (all) species of land, sea, and sky

demanding we live and let live … or (all) die

Copyright R. N. Taber 2019

Finding Neverland

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

This poem was written while I was recovering from a bad nervous breakdown in the early 1980’s. I found it buried under various documents for which I no longer have any use, and thought some readers might be interested.  Writing - especially poetry - helped me through that breakdown to a new job nearly 4 years later, one that would take me to retirement in 2008.

FINDING NEVERLAND

Oh, to ride a cloud

out of Nowhere, carrying me

Somewhere

Somewhere,

all varieties of plant and animal

in harmony

Somewhere,

no acid rain or polluted oceans,

only beauty

Somewhere,

no hint of war or double dealings,

only peace

Somewhere,

no hate crime grabbing headlines,

only love

Somewhere,

no socio-cultural-religious dogma,

only humanity

It’s cloud nine

to Somewhere, only ever dumps us

back Here

Here, there…

round trip to Neverland where hope

springs eternal

Copyright R. N. Taber 1983; 2018

Pleading for the Planet

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

[Update : July 30th 2019: We are still reeling from a week of very hot temperatures here in the UK, worse in other parts of Europe. Naturally, people have rushed to the seaside. However, there is no excuse for the appalling state of some  beaches - litter strewed as far as the eye can see - where those responsible simply could not be bothered to take it home and dispose of it there or at least wait until they could find a litter bin. Whatever happened to social conscience? We are polluting our seas, killing off and causing pain to sea creatures who, sadly, have no say in the matter. Until we all start acting more responsibly, it is not only climate change that will damage civilization as we know it, possibly if not probably beyond repair.]

Many if not most of us take nature for granted and use it to our own advantage at every opportunity as if we have every right to do so.

Meanwhile, I suspect Earth Mother whispers much the same in many an inner ear. Ah, but, hey, anyone listening…? Whose conscience pricking them for taking social responsibility so lightly, if at all?

Who is the guardian of whom, I wonder? We of nature or nature of us? Better, surely, that we work with rather than against each other...?

PLEADING FOR THE PLANET

Listen to the rain

telling tales on people

killing each other

Listen to the trees

telling tales on people
disrespecting them

Listen to the birds

telling tales on people

shooting them down

Listen to the fishes

telling tales on people

poisoning the seas

Listen to the worms

telling tales on people

doctoring the soil

Listen to the wind

telling tales of people

on borrowed time

Listen to the people

pleading for the planet

before it’s too late

Copyright R. N. Taber 2015

Past-Present-Future, a Collective Responsibility

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

A reader asks why I often write past-present-future as one word rather than separating past, present and future.  The interconnection is so great that I see them as a whole; just as time is a continuum so all we say and do at any one time will like as not affect and reflect not only ourselves, but others too - one way or another, to a greater or lesser extent, but significantly all the same  (whether we or they choose to  acknowledge it or not) in any near or distant moment in time.

As for the world in which we human beings persistently express a penchant for destruction and division ... is it not high time we focused more on pulling together, accepting and respecting each other's differences instead of playing socio-cultural religious-political football with them?

Any tears in the ozone layer will not mend themselves unless we all become more pollution conscious and stop arguing among ourselves long enough to take an honest look as how we are inflicting all but irretrievable damage to the planet.

Those leading politicians, with fingers in various Big Business pies, may well choose to play down the long-term effects of polluting the planet, but need to cut the rhetoric and act NOW or risk plunging future generations into an Armageddon scenario…

PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE, A COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY 

In the rain, an acid rain, you’re there

sharing the burden of my despair

Let the world roll out its history

consigning us to memory,

clouds forbid the sun, heavens weep;

in my dark, your light I’ll keep,

till this mere flesh no more can stand

and Death lends us a hand

as through a graveyard in a gentle rain

we ghosts will walk and talk again

In the rain, an acid rain, you’re there,

sharing the burden of my despair

Though our world blast into infinity,

consigning us to the galaxy,

yet seedlings shall survive, endure

in Mother Nature's loving care

till songbirds, in time, return

to the killing fields of Everyman,

redeem a so-sorry history of acid rain

till humankind ghost us yet again

In the rain, an acid rain, we’re here

sharing the burden of all despair

Copyright R. N. Taber 2007; 2014

  

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears under the title ‘Easing the Burden’ in Accomplices to Illusion by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2007.]

Earmarked for Development

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Several readers have asked when I intend to record more of my poems for You Tube. Well, soon I hope. However, Graham, my close friend and cameraman works full-time so is not often available and I have been unable to get anyone else interested.

For those of you who may be interested but haven’t yet seen and heard my capers on You Tube,

try: http://www.youtube.com/rogerNtaber  or keyword ‘Roger Taber You Tube’

We only do it for fun (and that includes heading straight for the nearest pub afterwards) but hopefully people will enjoy our efforts. I will be posting more on You Tube throughout the year, weather and cameraman availability permitting.

Meanwhile...

The world's growing population requires that we provide for its housing and other needs. We should not forget, though, that nature provides not only for its own protection but ours too. Our taking from nature without giving back is already making itself menacingly felt in various ways, and will likely haunt future generations with even greater menace. Deforestation especially, leaves us all exposed to climate change,

EARMARKED FOR DEVELOPMENT 

Archived, children at play

where once were trees and grass;

echoes of sunny laughter
but splinters of broken glass

Carefree voices, last heard
drifting away like autumn leaves;
carbuncles springing up
where Earth Mother grieves

Manna for the developers,

demand ever outstripping supply;

grass all concreted over,
(a time to live, a time to die?)

Nobody left likely to recall
how things were once-upon-a-tree
come nature, fairy tale...
Carbuncles, the new poetry

Copyright R. N. Taber 2004; 2016

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears in The Third Eye by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2004; rev. ed. in e-format in preparation.]

Global Warnings

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Most if not all of us fancy we see hear voices in the wind from time to time,. Maybe we should  pause and make time to listen...  

Fanciful, you say?  Yes, of course, but sometimes what we digest can do us a whole lot of good…so long as we can keep it down  rather than throw it up because we feel guilty for fancying it in the first place. It is high time we treated the natural world with the respect it deserves, not as a communal rubbish bin; nor killing vanishing species, for whatever reason, without putting safeguards in place to ensure their survival. Humankind has a collective responsibility towards all nature or Earth Mother will take the ultimate revenge, and it may well be the likes of you and me will not be found among any survivors 

GLOBAL WARNINGS

Listen to the rain

telling tales on people

running for cover

Listen to the trees

telling tales on people.

cutting to the quick

Listen to the birds

telling tales on people

shooting them down

Listen to the fishes

telling tales on people

poisoning the seas

Listen to the worms

telling tales on people

doctoring the soil

Listen to the wind

telling tales of people

on life support

Listen to the people

marching for the planet

while we still can

Copyright R. N. Taber 2010

Weeping Ozone, Sleepwalking World

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

[Update July 29th 2019: The world s beginning to wake up to the threat of climate change. Better late than never, although some pf its major players (like US President Donald Trump, to name just one continue to insist it is fake news. Let's all hope it is not too late for future generations.] RT

It is GOOD that (at last!) the world is starting to take climate change seriously, and accepting some responsibility for it. Even so, I can’t help thinking it is too little too late…especially as humankind is, on the whole, inclined to put its immediate needs first; immediate, but often (well) above and beyond the basics. Food, shelter and affordable housing are constantly put at risk by corporate greed funded by the wealthy intent upon getting wealthier and supported by the kind of back-door politics at which so many politicians excel.

There are, of course, a lot of good people out there if outnumbered by the bad. (The expression, 'the smile on the face of a tiger' springs to mind…)

It will be down to future generations to make the best (or worst, as the case may be) of the mess we have made and  continue to make of our planet with whatever resources available and, hopefully, a generous dose of sound common sense.

Whatever happened to priorities? It is bad enough that many people continue to bury their heads in the sand and pretend global warming is a fiction. How a significant number of those same people can continue to rage against gay relationships, for example, while playing down if not ignoring what has to be one of the greatest threats to the human race we will ever face is beyond my comprehension.

WEEPING OZONE, SLEEPWALKING WORLD

Terror in the sky, likely to bring
about the destruction of our planet;
rivers run dry, poisoned plants,
beasts of the wild starved of a will
to live, birds of the air unable
to take wing, too weak to sing even;
fishes in the sea, last to survive
nature’s very own Armageddon,
no end of tears in the ozone

Fear enough to melt glaciers,
seed mountains, valleys, urban oases
of wishful thinking among
fortune hunters quick to seize the day,
make a killing for profit (or kicks)
in human as well as animal trade-offs,
heart sleeves of the best cloth,
faux promises dead in the water,
potential eulogy for humanity

Panic in forests stripped of trees
meant to protect us in mean streets,
 androids forced to their knees
by silicon gods competing to be first
to clone eternity, any semblance
of morality but a vainglorious sterility
glossing over forsworn obligations
to generations left rummaging nature
for crumbs of survival

To the earth, a relentless rush of pain
its peoples shrug off as acid rain

Copyright R. N. Taber 2014; 2018

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears in The Third Eye: poems by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2004 under the title 'Under Threat'; rev title 2018.]

Making a Start

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Sometimes everything but everything seems to be going wrong and is almost too much to bear. Then it’s time to take a step back and consider what to DO.

Tell someone, preferably a close friend or relative who knows you well. A trouble shared really is a trouble halved.

Seek practical / professional help and advice. If you don’t know where to get it…ask. (Your local Citizen’s Advice Bureau is always a good start if you have money worries).

Come on, folks. Nothing is ever quite as bad as it looks.

Try resolving things instead of letting them get on top of you. If they cannot be resolved, try making the BEST of things instead of the worst. True, it’s never easy, but always worth making the effort. Don't try and muddle through on your own either. We all need help and support sometimes. There is no shame in asking. Besides, most people - especially those closest to us - LIKE to be asked.

Remember, if no one knows we need help, no one is in a position to give it. We have no right to complain that no one cares about us if we insist on keeping our troubles to ourselves. Yes, sometimes people let us down, society too. We can but try. More often than not, being positive achieves positive results.

So come on, folks. Let’s get a life instead of letting it get to us. [Could it be that Earth Mother has the same idea? Now, there’s a thought…]

PAST-PRESENT-FUTURE, EVERYTHING TO PLAY FOR

Up to the eyes in debt,

split with lover,

redundancy rumours

hitting harder

than media hits on war, 

famine, floods,

earthquakes, disasters

breaking hearts, 

taking lives, and blaming  

global warming

when we’re not blaming

each other for never

getting it right no matter

how we might vote

No ozone hole to blame

for street crime,

racism or homophobia,

beggars (all ages)

haunting shoppers, kids

all but running riot

in supermarkets because

parents afraid to say

no, stop, don’t, mustn’t

or you’ll grow up
with few social skills

and even less hope

of getting parole halfway

into a life sentence

Must start to get real, nurture

a better, kinder world...

Copyright R. N. Taber 2007; 2013

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears under the title 'Making a Start'  in Accomplices to  Illusion by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2007.]

Paying a (Heavy) Price for Climate Change, 3000 AD

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

[Update June 2nd 2017]: Yesterday, president Trump withdrew the USA from the Paris agreement on climate change. Such a step has been met with dismay by most countries around the world. Wie the president professes to be putting America and Americans first, it remains to be seen if that will prove the case or whether excessive carbon emissions may yet be the death of us all.] RT

As regular readers will know, I am revising some  poems that appear in my collection. An earlier version of today's poem first appeared in an anthology, Free-Falling, Poetry Now [Forward Press] 2006 and subsequently in my collection the following year. While there is a strong argument for leaving well alone, as I look at poems from a distance of several years or more, I sometimes feel the need to 'get it right'. Some readers, of course, will always prefer the original.

Now, we hear and read about climate change all the time.Yet how seriously do we take it? How committed are we to future generations?  Nor is climate all that's changing. Some would argue that humankind itself is being gradually eroded by complacency if not by by its own inhumanity.

Fatalism is humankind's worst enemy; we cannot blame our shortcomings on fate, only ourselves.

As for the planet, I suspect nature has ideas of its own ...

Whatever, there is no room for complacency; the well-being of future generations is at stake. Governments of the world and certain politicians with an invested interest in fossil fuels need declare those interests, get their priorities right and log into some positive thinking ... NOW.
  

PAYING A (HEAVY) PRICE FOR CLIMATE CHANGE, 3000 AD

Preserved in ice, like some

prehistoric monster

poised to tread weeping clay,

dead water

Traces of green, shades of envy

to the probing eye

investigating its reappearance

and repercussions

Provoking alarm in Big Brother’s

desolate backyard

stretching endlessly, like

a yawning clay pit

Hysteria among humanoid

and robotic camps alike,

tugging at the archaeologist’s arm

to leave well alone

Preserved in ice, like some

prehistoric monster,

missed potential for all humanity;

Statue of Liberty

Copyright R. N. Taber 2006; 2013

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears 1st eds. of  Accomplices To Illusion by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2007; 2nd (revised) e-edition in preparation.]

A Mythology of Leaves

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Regular readers will know I have a passion for nature; its trees, history, and mythology...

A MYTHOLOGY OF LEAVES

As the wind rustles leaves across earth and sky

and the moon feels its way among clouds,

hear voices of old gods telling loud and strong

of a time when they sat, oh, so proudly,

on the crest of Olympus considering the ways

of Earth’s children, found us wanting

It is Earth Mother who replies, loud and strong,

reminding them where they went wrong,

trying to manipulate humankind at their whim

like pieces on a chessboard instead

of allowing for its foibles and letting its peoples

win or lose their own battles

To the tawny owl, she calls, as it hunts its prey

and to the rabbit, trying to run away…

To the rough sleeper on the streets of a city

where few will act upon their pity

but watch and wait, playing the blame game

(old gods, in all but name)

As the wind rustles leaves across earth and sky

and the moon feels its way to dawn,

hear voices of old gods calling loud and strong

on a time long, long, gone…

while Earth Mother can but consider the ways

of a new generation, find us wanting

Come day, hear Earth Mother confide in Apollo

how humanity’s poetry rings, oh, so hollow

[From: On the Battlefields of Love by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2010

Where Did all the Baby Otters Go ?

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We take nature too much for granted. If we are not careful, by the time we wake up to the beauty of a natural world on our doorsteps, its beauty may well be but a distant memory for any survivors of a dying planet.

Although hunted less than in the past because their fur isn’t the money maker it used to be, pollution and global warming remain huge threats to otters... as it does to all of us.

WHERE DID ALL THE BABY OTTERS GO?

Once, a stream that ran down a mountain,

through this gutted forest, that daisy field,

joined sewage spilling without correction

over banks where once baby otters played

Humankind, it challenged the mountain,

would feed also at Earth Mother's breast,

but the life-giving milk turned to poison

till only the mountain survived all the rest

The snows of the mountain slowly melted,

flooding forests, fields, humankind. beast;

Everyman, eventually, compelled to admit

its share of the blame, neither all nor least

Copyright R N Taber 2005, 2019

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears in A Feeling for the Quickness of Time by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2005]

A Life in the Day of an Ordinary Joe

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My maternal grandfather was a delightful, rascal of a man who fought in World War1 and shared a good few ups and downs with my grandmother until he died peacefully in his sleep in 1969. I once confided in him that I felt so frustrated because I wasn’t doing anything with my life.

‘No doing anything with your life?’ he retorted. “You’re getting on with it, aren’t you? What more can anyone do?’

I guess granddad was also something of a philosopher in his own inimitable way...

A LIFE IN THE DAY OF AN ORDINARY JOE or CONTEMPORANEITY, 

On a long, long road

going…where?

Clouds, gathering

for a storm

People, clutching rolled umbrellas

as if for dear life

Children, forgotten

how to play

Parents, frightened

of failing

Sunlight, persuading ghosts to write

a Book of Shadows

Thin, polluted air

up the nose

Sounds of battle

in the ears 

World leaders playing cat and mouse

with private lives

Copyright R. N. Taber 2010

[Note: First published in CC and D magazine v 215, Scars (US) 2010.]