Mother Earth
Dorchester, MA
2020, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
When I was little I didn’t know much
I didn’t know the world was changing
I didn’t know it was my grandparents’ fault
I thought everything was normal.
2015 was the first time I heard the words climate change
I was in the 5th grade and all my friends were talking about politics
I didn’t know much about politics
Some of my peers said the world was going to end
Others said it was fake
All I could think was why would scientists lie?
In 2016 I moved to Tucson
I had a science teacher and
He made us do a project on the garbage patch in the ocean
I was so surprised that I hadn’t heard about it before
You would think if there was an island as big as Texas
Someone would say something….
Right?
In 2018 all my friends thought they could save the environment
They told me to buy metal straws or not to eat meat
I even heard scientists were trying to go to other planets to see if they were livable
When I told my mom I thought the world was ending she laughed at me
She said “Mother earth isn’t going to die
She’s just going to get rid of the things that are harming her.”
Reflection
When I was writing this, I was thinking about all the things that have been said about pollution and the environment. Being reminded that we humans are destroying the earth honestly makes me mad. I feel as if I can't do anything because I’m not a powerful person and I don't really have any money. Another thing that really helped me write was looking at pictures on Google. There are a lot of communities that are overrun by trash. I also asked my 4-year-old brother what he thought about pollution because I thought it would be nice to hear from someone younger. He said, “I think the earth is going to be dead and the planets are going to be alive and the sun is going to die.” I found this sad because why should a child know that? Personally now I am trying to reduce my carbon footprint. I walk everywhere I can, clean up after myself, recycle, and buy things second-hand. I think that if everyone tried this, the world would last longer.