An Autobiography of Greenhouse Gases
Haddam, CT
2019, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
We both begin as lines
Me as the ominous marks in clouds
that push away the sunshine of the day
The turtle as a jagged crack that refuses her an easy life
Flippers frantic,
she manages to escape her egg,
crawling;
her fate
a caution sign on a beach
“endangered”
Sand turns as
she races towards
waves,
her instinct:
safety
Miles from sloping dunes
where hatchlings scurry,
I turn colors
white to grey
blue to black
Egotists who believe they rule the world
with their feeble rules
cannot stop
me
painting the sky like a kindergartner
outside the lines
helplessly uncontrollable
I emerge from factory pipes
that extend their arms, reaching to conquer the atmosphere
smug with their secret weapons:
carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide
all parts of me
a dark fog looming in the air
I want to warn the turtle
the salty waves will be no friend
The ocean keeps absorbing me
like a sponge
and I in response will have to deprive the waters
first of coral reefs
taking everything until the ocean shows
a white flag
surrendering
to me
When the turtle reaches the sargasso sea,
she will wonder
Where is the
color and life
of the coral reefs?
Her promised home
gone
Rising seas might
wash away
her next generation
And I will continue choking the water
Until everything—
even the turtle—
is
silent ceased extinct
I will hold her in my toxic hands,
cursing the cruel world
looking down at her still body
with its everlasting dignity and grace
as I have with marine animals before her
This may be the future;
It glooms from above
But you, the beast who controls
the world
the mountains
the deserts
the oceans
Can stop me
You have the power.
Reflection
Reflection
The future is filled with the unknown: especially the unfathomable effects of climate change. In the past few years, with the recent climate change reports, I imagined climate change as an event coming from a sci-fi movie, probably like many others. From a young age, I have visited the Georgia Sea Turtle Center; I developed a love for turtles. This year, when I interviewed the Center and found that sea turtles are impacted by climate change, I suddenly realized that it is a real, present-day problem. Since I believe writing is my strongest way to influence myself and others, I wrote a poem. By narrating from a unique standpoint, I try to convey the message that climate change should not simply be blamed on greenhouse gases; rather, we as a human race should be held accountable. Using less electricity, carpooling, and educating others about climate change are three ways we can maintain not only a healthy ocean, but a world where the next generation wants to live.