Culture & Society

A Poetic Plea For Climate Action

A compelling call to action to save our planet from climate disaster

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
Getty Images
representative image Photo: Getty Images
info_icon

Green in all seasons

(Evergreen trees are a very important component of the world ecosystem. Without them there will be drastic global warming) 

Imagine a world without trees, not at all green. 

I simply dread to think about such a scene. 

Remember the huge 2019 Amazon forest fire? 

We don’t want a repeat, absolutely no desire. 

The evergreen trees make up the tropical and temperate forests. 

Protect them and let them not be burnt and thrown to waste. 

The trees are lush green all the year round. 

In fruits and other useful products they abound. 

They are nature’s best friend and nature’s rule. 

Their green cover is essential for the earth to cool. 

The firs, cedars, pine and others. 

Remain green and strong, in harsh or fair weather. 

The eucalyptus with their gum and wood. 

Make sturdy wind breakers as trees should. 

The citrus fruits a strong source of vitamin C. 

With lemony fragrance, aromatic as can be. 

For friendship’s sake we reach out with an ‘olive branch’. 

The sweetish sour olives are a joy to munch. 

The spruce wood is good for pianos and violins. 

 Music from such instruments bring peace and non-violence. 

Evergreen trees with utility which has no end. 

They are out life line, our very dear friends. 

(first published in book “Grrrs to Hisses and their Homes”) 

In our hands

Oh! Such hot summers nowadays. 

Sweltering and scorching heat around. 

Our childhood weather was much cooler. 

Pleasant and sweet breeze was found. 

A certain monster is engulfing us. 

We have made it and it is going out of hand. 

With our greenhouse gas emissions and aerosol sprays. 

We have destroyed our earth, our very own homeland. 

Widespread deforestation of green areas. 

Cutting trees without any thought. 

Snatching away habitats of wild animals. 

Making space but welcoming drought. 

Oh! Please stop the monster to engulf us all. 

Conserve our forests and plant more trees. 

Let not climate change entrap us all. 

Let the flowers bloom and listen to the buzzing bees. 

What we have done we have to undo. 

Otherwise the evil we have welcomed will engulf us. 

Climate change we humans have caused. 

We need to stop it or life will pause. 

The greenhouse gas emission has to be stopped. 

We need to plant more and more trees. 

Dr. Paramita Mukherjee Mullick is a scientist, a poet, an organiser and an editor