Good Morning World (a poem about saving the planet)
by John Hansen © 2014
“Good morning Mighty River,
How do you feel today?”
“I’m just a trickle now my son,
They took my flow away.
Men erected dams and weirs
To redirect my path,
To irrigate their precious crops,
They heed not Nature’s wrath.”
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“Good morning Old Man Red Gum,
How do you feel today?
“I’m sad and lonely on my own,
They took my friends away.
Men chopped them down without a care,
To make things out of wood,
Or use the land to build more homes
Where ancient trees had stood.”
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“Good morning Mrs. Polar Bear,
How do you feel today?”
“I’m worried for my two small cubs
As our ice cap melts away.
Men aren’t trying hard enough
To stop this climate change
They caused by wanting “more..more..more,
Their priorities are strange.”
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“Good morning Green Sea Turtle,
How do you feel today?”
A tear ran down her leathered cheek,
Half her shell was chipped away.
“My friends are dying all around,
Mankind is just so cruel,
Outboard motors, nets, and trash.
Are they careless or just fools?”
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“Good morning Mr. President,
How do you feel today?”
“The economy is doing well,
Big Business AOK.”
“But what about the homeless,
Those sick and on welfare,
The environment and climate change,
Or don’t you really care?”
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He smiled and said, “Don’t worry son,
We do the best we can,
But money only goes so far,
And you can’t please every man.”
“What about the massacres
Happening every other week?”
“I’ve tried to bring in gun-control
But Congress has me beat.”
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Talking with the President
Just left me feeling down,
So I strolled into the city park
On the other side of town.
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“Good morning Mr. Hobo,
How do you feel today?”
He looked up with a toothless smile,
“You see those kids at play?
Just watching them enjoy their life,
It really makes my day.
They aren’t corrupted by the world,
Have not seen pain and death,
The cruelty of their fellow man,
Or had to fight for every breath.
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Those youngsters are our future,
I know it in my heart
That they will make a difference
And give this world a brand new start.”
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Like Tony’s poem before yours “Are We Worthy” and William’s “Eyes that See” all three are significant thoughts about this sad world we occupy. There is devastation all around us, we try to find the answers and remedies to a dying planet. We cry out from the wilderness, pleading for change and grace. When will mankind see the “LIGHT” as it sinks into despair. The plight to save our world begins with MAN nobody else, unless we change our course, learn to love, not HATE, stop the WARS strive for PEACE then we will be like all generations before us LOST. Your poem echoed in my soul, I felt the pain of nature as you spoke with it and the self righteous greed $$ words from a president. The answers it came back with were disheartening. Let’s HOPE and PRAY that our children’s children will be the generation that TURNS man’s head towards LOVE, PEACE and caring for our mother world. Saving it from a most horrific end.
Vincent, your generous and insightful comments always add value to a post. I agree with everything you say, and just hope the next generation does a better job at protecting the planet than ours has…maybe turn things around.
A very poignant and heartfelt piece John, and lets hope the children make a better deal of it than those before them. Nicely put and emotive as to our suffering planet. great work.
Thanks, Tony. I appreciate your comment. There seems to be a common theme running through a number of the recent posts here. It is good to see writers voicing their concerns about our planet.
Aw! John, such deeply felt words you express to open the eyes and hearts of humanity. May we always listen to Mother Nature and teach our children well. Thank you for these words of concern for Mother Earth.
My pleasure, Phyllis. The Earth and Mother Nature are things I care about deeply. Thank you for your comment.
Wow, John, get you an illustrator and you have a children’s book here and I am not kidding! Besides it being so interesting for them and seeing the things you talk about but who would not want them to read it. Seriously, you have the perfect opportunity here to find you a sketch artist and I would love to see this happen! I mean you may have to expand a little but we know you can easily do that.
Think about it!
Thanks for the suggestion, Jackie. It is worth thinking about. This poem and its message means a lot to me and it would be great to share as a children’s book. It is probably long enough for a picture book but could be easily expanded on. I know a sketch artist on HubPages, Denise McGill “paintdrips”. Maybe I should approach her.
I like it. I appreciate your awareness John, that shines clearly through your words. I hope you post more poetry like this. This has inspired me 🙂
What a pleasant surprise to see a comment from you here, Bella. I wrote this one a little while back but believe it needed to be shared. I am glad you like my message (awareness). I hope to write more along these lines. Now I look forward to reading some of your writing here.
Hi John,
“Beautiful” is the first word I uttered reading these lines. You have a brilliant and simple approach of dealing with words which seem to convey the message very well. And Rhyming is your “forte” whatever you may say.
Tarun, I thank you for reading this poem and for your very fine comment. This poem means a lot to me because it deals with some very important issues. I do find rhyming poetry a satisfying medium to get my message across.
I enjoyed how you broke the poem into smaller conversations on a larger theme. Your characters at times reminded me of Eric Carl. This poem would make a great concept chapbook with illustrations. Love it. Jamie
Hmm, Jamie. You are the second person who said I should turn this into a children’s book/chapbook. Maybe I have to consider that.
Hope you got a plan on this John. Glad I saw it in the email to come back and read again! Maybe we should do up a children’s book next? I would sure love that. I have never thought about children’s poetry even though I have written some short stories. I know that would be such fun, just never had a reason to.
Was late ordering my book but should have it by first of next week. Are you enjoying it?
Thanks for visiting this again, Jackie. I would love to write a children’s book, but we’ll have to see if we have enough content that is suitable. I have written so many children’s stories and books for other people. I included this in the poetry book. I haven’t received my copy yet..I think it estimated delivery around 28th October. I haven’t heard if anyone has received one yet, but I hope it turned out OK.