Reversible Damage
New Jersey
2020, Junior, Poetry & Spoken Word
(Read down from the first line for despair. Read up from the last line for hope.)
The Earth is damaged beyond repair.
I will not believe that
We can work together to fix it.
There are people who want to save the Earth.
But that doesn’t have to happen.
The ocean levels are rising
Because the Earth is heating up
Animals are everywhere;
But not for long.
Humans are leaving behind a footprint
That can’t be erased.
People are working to fix the earth
But the thought is too small.
Negativity runs rampant,
People make signs asking for change,
But that change will never happen.
Many think the world will become barren
And it will.
The Earth can be repaired
But it will never happen.
The Earth can just boil over,
Saying the Earth is disposable is an old ideal
Which can be reused.
Plastics are thrown into the ocean
Give up hope
We never have to
change.
We thrive by the fact we can
Find a new planet and start over.
We can’t just
Make the Earth okay again
We need to
Continue on our path
We can’t
Stop polluting and pouring poison into the air.
Yes, it’s true.
So can we really save our Earth and turn it all around?
Reflection
This poem in its essence really shows how damage can be undone. In the first read-through of the poem, it is very cynical. The damage done to the Earth cannot be undone, there is nothing we can do to change, etc. However, when you find the new perspective of the poem by reading it from the bottom to top, it becomes extremely optimistic and talks about how easy it is to make a change, right our ways, and save the Earth. Our poem also reflects the type of people that roam this Earth. There are people who are pessimists and do not believe changes can be made, but there are also people who have and will not give up hope. Overall, this poem shows that while some have given up all hope, there is and will always be a light at the end of this darkness. For every negative the world throws at us, there is an equal and opposite positive available.