By Freya Anastasia Hatfield
Trees are dying, the world is heating up,
But, that’s not our problem.
The Ocean levels are rising, ice caps are melting,
But, that’s not our problem.
Countries, cities, and towns are full of pollution,
But, that’s not our problem.
Our plastic goes into waterways,
Our rubbish kills innocent animals,
But, that’s not our problem.
We cut down trees, cut away masses of green grass,
Taking away thousands of animals homes,
But, that’s not our problem.
Big money giants fill our heads with, buy this,
and your life will be better
Or buy this, and you save double the price.
But, that's not our problem.
They don’t tell us about the more extensive damage it causes.
They don’t tell us about the hurt it does to the one planet, we inhabit.
But, that’s not our problem.
But, our problem is,
Trees dying.
The world heating up.
Ocean levels rising.
Ice caps melting.
Countries,
Cities,
And towns filling with pollution.
Plastic filling waterways.
Rubbish killing innocent animals.
Trees being cut down for more land.
Grasslands being taken away.
Thousands of animals homes being destroyed.
This is our problem.
It takes a second to make a decision,
A second to think about your imprint in the broader world
It takes a second to want to make a change.
It takes at least twenty-six days to break a habit.
Yet it takes years to realise our impact
It takes years for us to recognise that time isn’t stopping
We can’t reverse it overnight
But we can start to make a change.
We can start by making changes in our day to day lives
We can start with what we buy, how we get around,
How we make an impact can slowly begin to reverse
some of the damage we’ve caused.
What’s happening isn’t new
It hasn’t just happened in a decade
Or two.
Its taken generation after generation,
Of new inventions and new ways of doing things.
Inventions that once seemed like a good idea,
Inventions that once may have been needed,
Inventions that now are costing lives,
Inventions that are creating alarming devastating worries worldwide.
But, that’s not our problem.
No amount of time will prepare us for what could happen.
Why let it be a could be?
Why let it be a will be?
Why not make it a, it never has to happen.
Why not make it a this isn’t our future.
But, that’s not a problem.
Our future can be,
Reverse in climate change.
Reverse in pollution.
A decline in deforestation.
An abundance of insects and pollination
A world that isn’t falling apart but being brought back together
With love, care and the possibilities of new, better and healthier ways
of protecting this world, we live in.
Of protecting this planet that we need not only for us,
but the entirety of every living being and organism that calls this planet home.
We have one home,
One planet,
One chance.
Before life, as we know, it is gone,
Before the lights of the earth go out,
And before life, as we know it, no longer exists.
But, that’s not our problem.
One chance
To stop a dying planet.
One chance
And too many lives at risk.
One chance
And not enough people listening,
Or making a change.
One chance
And counting.
But, that’s not our problem.
Time is ticking,
Time is running out.
Lights turning off,
Lights not turning back on.
Species going extinct,
Less and fewer lives being reborn.
But, that’s not our problem.
Humans, for now, can build new lives
But many animal kinds can’t
We can adapt,
But many animals can’t.
But, that’s not our problem.
We have one chance.
Let’s not jeopardise our lives,
and the planet.
Let’s not leave how we end up to chance.
Let’s not leave it to the earth to decide our fate.
Let’s make lasting changes for the better.
One chance.
Don’t let it be,
One chance too late.
Because of that.
It is OUR PROBLEM.
