What rhymes with climate change? 

April is National Poetry Month. These poems highlight the issues we are facing in the 21st century and how much of an impact we are having on our planet.

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“We took control of our affairs. No fresh air.” 

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Extinction by Jackie Kay

 

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How many politicians put green issues at the top of their agenda? Unfortunately, not many and in this poem Jackie Kay draws a parallel between politics and mother nature. We vote for politicians who we think can better our future, but what’s the point of planning for the future if there isn’t one for the planet?

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“Remains of stilted walkways tell their story:
how they walked over water between trees,
longing for a lost land when the sea-god stole it” 

 

Cantre’r Gwaelod by Gillian Clarke

 

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This legendary land was lost to the sea hundreds of years ago. However, during a storm in 2014 the land was rediscovered. It is described as a desecrated graveyard lost and then uncovered by the sea. The poem is an ode to rising sea levels and warns of the devastation it could leave behind. 

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“Nothing can breathe
under oil, nor register that
dark membrane’s slick

over sight.” 

 

Silent Sea by Rachael Boast

 

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Around 1.3 million gallons of petroleum spill into US waters every year and with a major oil spill, that could double. This leaves millions of sea life dead. Rachael Boast creates a dark picture of what can happen because of an ‘over sight’. 

 

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“What have you done
with what was given you,
what have you done with
the blue, beautiful world?”

 

The Question by Theo Dorgan

 

 

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With the knowledge we have nowadays what excuse is there. Around 10.3 million people watched Blue Planet II on the BBC imagine if each one of those people agreed to live more sustainably. Couldn’t we all make a difference?