Sunday, May 16, 2010

Disaster In the Gulf

I feel the Earth trembling

as Black Death gushes from her own breast

ripped open by manmade greed

and ignorance

always thinking he can conquer

and quell,

and outsmart

the natural order of things,

always choosing dollars

over tranquility.

And Mother Earth trembles

as her rich blood flows

into her briny ocean

where it does not belong,

Blood that has become poison

with chemicals and chemicals added

to dispense the unstaunched flow

and ocean and wetlands tremble,

and fish and wildlife tremble,

and all of the people tremble

at this dark unknown.

Who will save us from disaster?

Can we really save ourselves?

There are not enough dollars in the sea

or centuries in our lifetime

to undo This Great Harm.

~Kathie Adams Brown (May 16, 2010)

One Single Impression Prompt 116: Trembling

As the oil continues to flow into the Gulf of Mexico these are just some of the bird species at risk from "This Great Harm."


18 comments:

Tumblewords: said...

So true. Well written. Very sad.

Gaelyn said...

You have said it well, and it's very scary. We will pay for this forever. Mother Earth crys.

Kathie Brown said...

Tumblewords, I wish it was a poem I didn't have to write. I can barely think about it, it is so overwhelming.

Gaelyn, You of all people understand the eternal harm that is being done. Thank you for your comment.

DeniseinVA said...

Powerful Kathie. So frightening and hard to comprehend the magnitude of this catastrophic disaster. I watched the 60 minutes show about it tonight. In some ways I wish I hadn't but best to know than not. No sticking our head in the sand on this one.

bobbie said...

http://christophersviews.blogspot.com/

Above is another blogger who expressed his feeling on this subject with a poem.

Yours is wonderful - just so sad.

Patti said...

Very well done and unfortunately so timely and true and sad

brenda w said...

Thank you for giving voice to this issue. Sadness covers the Earth. What are we thinking?
~Brenda

abb said...

Beautiful poem - very haunting. Such a horrible tragedy.

Kathie Brown said...

Denise, you are so brave. I did not know that 60 Minutes did a piece on it. I can only hope that this disaster will finally wake people up and make them realize just what is at stake here.

bobbie, thanks for the link. With your love for the ocean and the shore, I know this disaster saddens you also.

Patti, isn't it though.

Brenda, what you say is true, but not everyone is sad, which makes this case even sadder still. Some people are denying that harm has been done!

TS Annie, thank you.

Amity said...

Sad! One could really tremble with the aftermath of greed of man!

When can we learn a lesson? When it will be too late? Man has created a monster in him which in the end will make him tremble with the result of his own doings!

christopher said...

It is all very hard to watch indeed.

I am so glad Bobbie bridged the poetry connection.

Jim said...

Kathie, I have been thinking of you this week. Yes, I did think of those poor birds that you love so much. Your poem tells of their expected plight and places blame properly, man.

But I also thought of you when I did my 'eaglets' haiku. I have some links now to the web cam and also one (Hancock Wildlife Foundation link) having time sequenced photos that different people have contributed.
..

Kathie Brown said...

Amity, thank you for your compassion and concern.

Christopher, yes, Bobbie is wonderful. She has pointed me in the righgt direction more than once. If you like poetry check out my poetry blog. There's a link in the sidebar. BTW, I am pleased to meet you.

Jim, I have missed hannging out with the poets and you. I am trying to keep on task with everything but sometimes there is just too much to do. Thanks for thinking of me and thanks for the info about the birds and the links. I will come and check it out.

Vinay Leo R. said...

a very poignant take on tremble, and i liked the way you used that word. a pity how with greed, people don't look at the well being of other life on this Earth. it was well expressed, the tears of Mother Earth as she sees her own blood flow into the oceans.

Kathie Brown said...

Leo, thank you for your visit and your words of encouragment. It is comforting to know that other people do care about this.

Tammie Lee said...

Wonderful that you chose this subject to write on. Your poem is so well said.

TR Ryan said...

What a brilliant poem and yes - the hope of being able to save ourselves becomes increasingly daunting. You should send this 'round for publication - its fantsatic!

Kathie Brown said...

TR, that is a fine compliment, especially coming from you. I have no idea where to send it though! Any ideas?