image from deviantart.com
Gorilla in the Garage
“To be clear, climate change is a true 800 pound
gorilla in the room.”
--Debbie Wasserman Schultz.
The vastness of our oceans is polluted.
Our precious forests are dry as tinder.
Too many people seem to be deluded.
Nature was forever a generous lender,
but we have always been voracious takers--
like heroin addicts on a deadly bender.
Scientists today are called over-reactive fakers;
truth becomes pariah, facts said to betray--
yet there still might be time to become makers
of a brighter future, denizens of much better days,
removing our ever present ignorant blinders,
growing proud trees every sunny May,
letting go mindless devastation, becoming finders
and caretakers, kicking out the never-minders .
Glenn Buttkus
Sonnet
Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub
16 comments:
This was killer Glenn! Tore right to the heart and soul of these assholes who are letting this planet bleed. Why, so they can bleed the coffers dry. They don't give a fuck! I especially loved your closing phrase: "...kicking out the never minders!" Like to kick their ass! I love sharing poetry once more with you man. Those years I wasn't feelin' up to writin', you'd drift through my thoughts at times - as well as Tess and the Magpies, and my "Writer's Island" crew. Well, hell with it, we're back! Happy New Year to you dude, and yours! I sure as fuck hope 2019 finds us ever healthy and chock full of healthy rage... :-)
Oh it's so easy to not believe, do the research,etc. and as they sit and ignore the truth, our world waits and sinks into deeper vulnerability. Love the passion you poured into this one!
it is the never minders that give us a false sense of security, your sonnet is very melodic
There is a comfort in not believing... and then you can expect things to solve everything by itself, so easy to win an election when you tell people it's just a hoax...
Good observation and description: "but we have always been voracious takers--
like heroin addicts on a deadly bender."
There is so much truth in this sonnet, Glenn, with its sturdy structure and rhyme scheme. I’m going to be pedantic in my criticism, though – the noun and verb in the opening line do not agree ‘The vastness (noun) of our oceans are (verb) polluted’, which, in order to retain the iambic pentameter, I would change to ‘The vastness of our oceans is polluted’ or, ‘Our vast and mighty oceans are polluted’. I admire t he final couplet – let’s kick out those never-minders .
So much truth in your message. We have been voracious takers, like heroin addicts. Time to pay the piper. I HOPE there is still time to be better makers. Well said!
A Powerful message< Glenn, I'm not a huge fan of form, but I'm beginning to change. When used like this, there is so much force to it...JIM
Question: where are we going to kick the never-minders out TO. There are so many more that exist than those few in positions of power. Don't ask me where to, but it really isn't a rhetorical question. Also, you may be heartened to know that part of my property is open fields where they grazed horses before, but at least one of those fields is going to be planted with trees. If anybody reading wants to make a palpable contribution to life continuing on the planet, PLANT TREES, our guardians and caretakers of life.
Thank you, Kim--I struggled with that line, and have now corrected it. This is a perfect example of how we all can help each other.
Praise:
Love the photo
Love the protest poem and the quote
Loved the bender analogy, great
Critiques:
the vastness is not polluted, the vast oceans are polluted.
"kicking out the never-minders" not as smooth as your other great choices, to me.
Photo and quotation introduce your sonnet so well here. And I most love the last couplet which gives us some hope that there are voices out there and people willing to act.
Catching up on my sonnet reading....Perhaps we could call this the Protest Sonnet form? :) Well done! And a GREAT message as well! LISTEN PEOPLE....LISTEN!
Love the message Glenn and you sure pull punches for us, takers from mother earth.
The concluding lines is the much needed call to action with: becoming finders and caretakers, kicking out the never-minders .
Hi Glenn, it seems we are both concerned about mother earth and the gravity of our existence on this planet.
I love how your poetry has a modern/urban feel. Does that make sense?
It will take getting rid of Trump to do what should be done. I don't know how people can deny the fact of global warming while we're already burning up.
May it be so!
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