ON THE FINAL ISSUE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES: Year of 2100
Chandler, AZ
2019, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word
A few news headlines popped up in the year of 2100, and
despite the bright red headings in large font,
readers simply shrugged the old news off,
embracing their fate and
blaming the past for their troubles.
The Great Barrier Reef (now the Great Buried Reef) surprised
no one.
As indicated by the name,
This reef had faced great barriers (to survival)
The Great Buried Reef was
Once a natural wonder (Now a barren graveyard)
Covered (in white corpses) of
(Bleached) coral and filled with diverse
(Nonexistent) fish.
The Great Hurricanes triggered
some tears and mostly sighs that
flooded the streets
with acid rain.
Prayers were voiced for miracles but
At that point…
The Last Glacier Melts! smothered
The dreams of
Children that aspired to
Meet polar bears, penguins, walruses, and narwhals
Taste snow that melted on their tongues, and
Build snowmen, snow angels, and snow forts
To then return home for hot
chocolate.
The Rising Sea Levels Wipe Last Ancient City caused
The rusting remnants of skyscrapers to crumble and flow into
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Soon to be
The Great Pacific Garbage Pangea
Already known as
The Ugly Inferno of Human Ignorance.
These news headings were supported with
Meaningless numbers sprinkled throughout
Which readers quickly scanned over—
1.2 Trillion Gallons of Petroleum Left in Ocean/ 120 Degree Fahrenheit Temperatures in Brazil And Rising/ 75 ppmv Atmospheric CO2 Levels/ 2ft Rise in Water Levels/ 2ft/year Average Rate of Precipitation Increase/ 10,000 PPM of CO2/ 10% Increase Next Year of Cardiovascular Disease Cases/ 10 Million Animals Gone
So when
A few news headlines pop up in the year of [2019] and
[In] their bright red headings of large font,
Readers [must] simply [dream and hope for better news by]
embracing [the challenges] and
[shaping] the [environment] for their [future].
Reflection
Reflection
As an Arizonian, I have never casually walked down to the beach on the weekends to admire the ocean. For every rare opportunity that I do visit the ocean, my curiosity is further sparked by the marine biodiversity that exists beyond the waters. However, the myriad effects of global warming threaten this diversity. In my poem, I sought to highlight the most prevalent effects of global warming that will be inevitable in the future if no action is taken to mitigate the causes of climate change. I hope that a sense of action will be instilled in the reader to combat global warming with small steps. By reducing the carbon footprint of one individual at a time, we begin to make a change as a collective force. With this collaborative action, the publication of the New York Times in the year 2100 will hopefully have more optimistic outlooks on the environmental situation. Let us begin hoping for a better future when we speak and act for the ocean.