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Bronze Award icon
Rumour
Leyanah Appadoo
Poudre d'Or Hamlet, Mauritius
2022, Senior, Poetry & Spoken Word

Hey, have you heard the rumour?
Apparently, beaver
He’s not such a nature lover
He’s been felling so many trees,
Wanting to build a dam
Such a selfish dude,
Another uneducated creep
Like hasn’t he learnt about deforestation?
Sending the world into annihilation
I’m telling you, he irritates me
Can’t he look after planet Earth like I do?
Scru – pu – lous care
Grrr,
I’ve been ripping off piles of paper to vent my frustration

Hey, have you heard the rumour?
It just broke my sense of humour
Seemingly, cow caused climate change
No one wants to believe it
I always thought she was, you know, tame
But, she made an overproduction of methane
Can’t control her farts and burps,
Like my granny,
Choking our Earth
I’ve been spraying a lot of CFC perfumes,
To counter her fumes
I hope it helps

Hey, have you heard the rumour?
Dr. Octopus, our tutor,
Has been caught polluting water
Shooting his ink,
Turning our turquoise waters filthy and thick
A quintessence of disgrace,
I’m telling you a heart-wrenching case
It’s so different from my oil spills of last night,
When I gifted a black coat to the sea,
From my daddy’s boat
The birds liked it so much that they remained clung to it

Do you want to hear the next rumour?
It will be about me,
And the indestructible bond I share with Mother Nature,
How I protect her, of course
I planted a tree,
Being humble is key.

Reflection
Reflection

I wanted to write a striking poem that would be simple and easy to understand to allow full comprehension by audiences of all ages. 'Rumour' depicts the human nature of not taking the blame, coupled with a somewhat narcissistic approach. I've noticed a tendency of accusing others for what is a collective problem in our relentless battle for a secure future, and I made use of this. Writing this poem did not only trigger an epiphany that a single action, like planting a tree, cannot counterbalance all our wrongdoings, but also allowed me to be more open-minded about the issue. I choose to stay hopeful and encourage the viewers of my poem to stay as well. P.S. Stop blaming the cows. It's us who started farming.

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Rumour

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