Tears of Floods and Fire —
This intense heat of the sun —
That bakes this land dry,
That dries up our rivers —
Bringing waves of fires.
This heat that stirs up the air —
That brings storms and hurricanes,
That brings droughts to some —
And flash floods to others.
Know that it contains our fingerprints —
That it has been magnified by us.
It reflects a thousand human causes —
A heat of over-consumption.
There is no denying our responsibility —
We are responsible to some degree.
Our collective greed and ignorance —
Will bring us to our knees.
Do you recognize our collective ignorance —
A hundred years of air pollution?
Our legacy is this unpredictable world —
The suffering of countless children.
Every year there is some crazy news on TV —
Giant heat domes and great flash floods,
The hottest temperature recorded in the arctic,
Failed harvests bringing famine to many.
Historians might one day trace it back to these days —
When leaving it to neighbours was the accepted way.
Or maybe children will look back with fondness and say —
They did change their ways to bring us these happier days.
— Luan V Dinh