The Gift

By Michele Spector

Nature bent to will,

The illusion that fuels

excess consumption,

At habitat’s expense,

And species’ extinction,

A hundred a day,

To extract amounts,

Devouring three earths,

From a single life.

I couldn’t have written a more difficult poem. My heart breaks over what has happened in the Gulf. It’s due to greedy oil companies making a fast buck. Irresponsibility has damaged a very fragile marine eco-system that may never recover. It’s still not over. I’m afraid the Gulf will become the new Le Brea tar pits and crude will move around the Florida coast to come up the eastern seaboard. I feel like I’m in a Mad Max movie!

When I first saw the oil slick, I envisioned it fueling the cause for renewable clean energy, and not just by activists. The main stream media is even talking about it now that it’s safe to of course. They definitely didn’t do their job to report how serious it was sooner.

I once read that it would take three earths to keep up with the current consumption rates, not even including the growth rate of India and China. I don’t think mother earth can take much more of this. This little blue planet of ours is unique in all the galaxy. It’s a dazzling display of life’s diversity. Capable of sustaining life, it has only a thin magnetic field protecting it from the ravages of space. There is no greater gift that we have, yet we take it for granted, and believe it will just keep on giving.