Pages

Thursday 26 May 2011

To Joplin, Missouri


Someone cut in front of me in the carpool line the other day 
And that got me really mad
I was tempted to go up and confront her,
But it turned out to be a he and not a she!

So I suppressed my anger and fumed all the way home
(He was much bigger than me, you see...) 
I was really livid deep inside
Stressing about adults who do not follow rules.

"Car pool is not that complex
All we have to do is wait in line and take turns
Cutting in front of other cars makes me so vexed
Surely, that can't be cool!"

And then I switched on the TV at home
Only to see the news coverage about Joplin
The footage - scary. The people - helpless. 
Their devastation - palpable. 

(It kinda puts things into perspective, doesn't it?)

There I was, stressing about something as trivial as carpool
When there was a bigger catastrophe going on around me
Whole communities devastated, families brutally separated 
By huge, raging gusts of wind and rain.

Homes blown away, cars flying in the air like kites
Entire neighbourhoods turned into wasteland
These people had no carpool to worry about - not even streets anymore..
All they now had was confusion, fear and bewilderment

Rebuilding after events like this can take its toll on the nation
What can be salvaged? How do you console the bereaved? 
The mother who watched her infant snatched away by the wind?
The father who helplessly saw their family home collapse to nothingness?

There are too many of these natural disasters occurring
Too many hurricanes, tornadoes, tsunamis and bush fires 
Some people say 'Global Warming'
Others say 'End times'

I do know that we Earthlings have ravaged the earth
Raped her endlessly in our selfish quest to get the finest
Of Earth's minerals and resources, to make our lives comfortable.
We have stripped her of her dignity.

And we continue to do so each day
In the cars we drive, the packaging on the food we eat
The plane rides, those luxuries we cannot do without.
At what cost to humanity?

Can we do anything? I think we can. 
Let's make a conscious effort in our communities, in our lives
Try a little, conserve a little, save a little, change a little
We owe it to the people in Joplin (and all the other cities affected by natural disasters) 
 

4 comments:

  1. Well said, Globe trotter. Every tiny inch of conservation and consideration we all have to our 'Earth' Mother will go along way combined. WWF do amazing work, so should we all.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very nice...

    ReplyDelete
  3. @TLeaves - So true. Every little helps, however small it may seem.
    @Anonymous - Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow! That was amazing. I feel seriously convicted! Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...