Great Extinction #6

by Buff Whitman-Bradley / March 30th, 2025

Not long ago we read
Tbat 90% of all species
Which have, at one time or another,
Been living and working hard
On our planet
Just to make a buck,
To have a home,
To keep the kids fed,
Are now extinct.
This gave us pause.
That’s a high rate
Of job turnover.
What, we wondered,
Could be the reason
For all those resignations?
Some people, smarter than we are,
Explain that it’s about
How the environment is always in flux
And can evolve in ways
That make it unfriendly
For those it has long supported —
Tropical rain forests becoming tundra,
Fresh water becoming salty –
So the longtime residents
Have to find another suitable neighborhood
Or kick the bucket.
It makes us wonder what might be in store
For our favorite species,
Homo sapiens.
There are lots of folks who warn us
That we’re mucking up the place
So thoroughly
And at such a rapid rate
That we’re certain to get pink slips
And eviction notices
Sooner rather than later
If we don’t clean up the joint
Pronto.
Some even say it’s too late
And we should start hunting
For housing and employment
Elsewhere in the cosmos.
Trouble is, when we load up
The family station wagon
To hit the starry road
We’ll need to take everybody else
Along with us.

Buff Whitman-Bradley’s poetry has been widely published in print and online journals. He has a new book coming out from Finishing Line Press, A Friendly Little Tavern Somewhere Near the Pleiades. Read other articles by Buff.

This article was posted on Sunday, March 30th, 2025 at 8:00am and is filed under Poetry.