Immune System
Las Vegas, NV
2024, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
I am your plague, I am your penance
I am your earth, I am your mother
The carbon and ozone stings my eyes until I can no longer see
Suffocating my heat chapped lips
But what little oxygen slips into my lungs
Become those who care, who think, who create.
While blood boils to fever and wildfires rage across my skin
No arm or leg or continent or country spared
Their knees and ice caps melting
Yet, the people I hold in my hands inter lace and cooperate
To construct new lightbulbs in my head that are not built on fossils like before
I am drowning everyone; 6-8 inches in 100 years
The salt sweat bleaching my hair and my reefs
But my gut births a new culture
Of aqua- and perma- and agri
That will slowly repair my broken systems
And a little girl who sits on my left pinky toe
Perishes like the crops, and the water, and the animals
In the flood that her father said was not a problem
While his car started the storm that swept away their sofa
The rainbow does not come
But my heart still beats as the grassroots take hold
As communities garden and grow together
Scientists will surge new energy through my veins
That will pulse for all eternity
Happening too little, too slowly
I am your heaven, your home
Fight for me: my last breath is yours.
Reflection
I have always had an interest in anatomy and biological sciences, so I took inspiration for my poem from the similarities between climate change’s effect on the earth and a pathogenic illness’ effect on the body. I wanted to emphasize the great danger posed to the planet by turning a blind eye on the harmful effects of climate change, much like how illness poses a threat to the health of a human. Additionally, I was also inspired and hopeful when learning about the scientific discoveries and solutions that are aiding the fight against climate change and global warming, which I expressed as the immune system in my poem. The message of my poem is that it is only through persistent fighters and advocates of climate change that we will be able to sustain our planet’s resources to secure the future of the next generation. In order to tackle climate change, communities can work together to support initiatives to help our environment. These ideas can range from supporting local legislation for environmental limits, to carpooling to work or school each day. If enough people take small steps to reduce their carbon footprint, a big impact will be made in helping to heal our suffering planet.