Dead Plants

Buried organics cannot panic
but they hear what we say

Carbons may serve as shop stewards
for the earth’s union

Yet volatile materials stoke fires
Coal chars faces and sears lungs

When phytoplankton and zooplankton mixed with mud
And rested at the bottom of the ocean
Who knew that hydrocarbons would diminish like fish
In a polluted lake we still swim in

When ecosystems take millions of years to form
Who knew they would take only minutes to destroy
Like blowing career savings on one trip to one mall
For one plastic flamingo

While fossil fuels unleash
billions of tons of carbon dioxide each year
We can agree:
Moving away from fossil fuels
Like moving from right to left coast
Requires non-renewable gas and time

Dead organisms may stay silent but they see what we do
Buried organics cannot panic but they hear what we say:
Fill it up with Unleaded, please!

Dead plants remind us, however
Saying please is not enough

Dead organisms see what we do and hear what we say
They turn in their fossilized graves and wait:

What will we say when they see us?
How will we hide our shame?

David Lee Keiser
14 May 2009