Aquifers lose their water–

canyons channel fire–

cracking soils in the earth–

forests clear cut for wood–

open maws of metal–

orange throat-scratching air.

 

Cartoony puffing air

blows up plumes of water.

Orange glowing metal

man coils yellow fire.

Beetle-infested wood

brings tears to Mother Earth.

 

To cool the heating earth,

trees oxygenate the air.

Amazonian wood

captures carbon. Rain water

douses pines  on fire.

Poems replace metal.

 

Dark Satanic mills spew metal.

Yellow bulldozers churn up earth.

Wildcatters slash and spark fire.

Coal plants turn orange air

into smog falling on water.

Corporations buzz saw wood.

 

Can one man replant wood?

One woman break down metal?

One child purify water?

One baby reclaim the earth?

One girl color blue the air?

One boy beat back fire?

 

Controlled burns starve fire.

The Sahel: a planted  wall of acacias green with wood.

Electricity springs from the air.

Pet food sold without metal.

Senegal: Modou Fall gathers plastic to scour the earth.

Great Pacific Garbage Patch: Boyan Slat scoops plastics from the water.

Send-off

Vulcan stokes fire, and with it, shapes metal.

Silvanus throws himself at his wood. Ceres huddles over her Earth.

Jupiter thunders in the air. Neptune raises oceanic water.