Mother Earth
By Cassandra Griffing
After I gave you everything.
Mound by mound
you tossed me what you no longer need—
plastic Walmart bags,
Styrofoam from the headphones
that didn’t work,
the wrappers from your Lays at lunch—
all things only used for a second
that filled my blue river veins
with junk.
I coughed,
twinges of fire scorching my throat,
my lungs filled with CO2
from the bushfires,
my flaming Amazon,
and the sick
sick exhaust from your SUV.
I gasped for fresh air.
I stuck my grimy finger
down my throat to relieve
myself from all the waste you
had me consume. But
no one was there to save me.
If you don’t save me,
like a mother,
I can’t save you.
Editor’s Note
“This piece has an incredible, unique perspective of our world right now. It talks about social responsibility and how we have to take care of our world because it is the only thing we have.”
“This piece really brings to life the harsh realities of pollution and global warming. By personifying mother nature and the earth, one can feel the disappointed, frustrated emotions that humans cause the earth. This poem was so easy to follow and really evoked inward speculation of what we have done to harm the earth.”
