Reclaiming Our Time for the Planet

Grand Canyon bathtub rings telling
us the Colorado River’s dropped over
150 feet. Twenty years of drought—And
A wildfire a week; A nor’easter; superstorm;
hurricane; tornado; typhoon; And
tsunami over blackened birds, slimy, gooey,
tar balled waters—obligatory oil spills over
Corporate propaganda cycles—A delicious
recipe for disaster…

Whisker-sized particulate matter’s winning
Air superiority in pumpkin skies. Skies
Bees buzzed decks from; Skies hummingbirds
and butterflies hung out in.
Skies crows dropped from, jamming with
pigeons and spying on stashing/noshing
squirrels. A place you could get a gallon of
unleaded water that smelled drinkable…

This was before Roundup Ready corporate
propaganda cycles ejaculating Satan’s sperm
into our aquifers. Before prioritizing our
Friends by stages/types of cancer they suffer…

No need for nuance here—let’s say it simply—
say it plainly:
the kettle’s been on the back burner whistling
Frantically for decades—Warning of capitalist
immolation…And the world can’t wait…

The world can’t wait…Bassackwards…
for 21st century technology to catch
up with 17th century ideology—can’t
wait in perpetuity on old
mush-mouthed men’s mumblings on markets—
Seventeenth century
catechisms covering 21st century climate crimes…

The world can’t wait…
for more inflated claptrap; more cleverly crafted
lies—more methane promises huffed and puffed—
Killing us softly with their carbon…

Former forklift driver/warehouse worker/janitor, Raymond Nat Turner is a NYC poet; BAR's Poet-in-Residence; and founder/co-leader of the jazz-poetry ensemble UpSurge!NYC. Read other articles by Raymond Nat, or visit Raymond Nat's website.