Poem: Earth and Man

(The poem below describes the relationship between mankind and the environment he lives in; all the care that needs to be taken to make this relationship stronger and to realize that the environment we live in is a gift for us to nurture, not to exploit and misuse.)

Fresh and green, free and clean was our earth long ago,

But now all black and brown, filthy all around, there’s greenery no more;

All concrete that has been built, substitutes all that should be green,

Stripping nature of its richness, bringing changes yet unseen;

Waste on high and in places land so dry,

Our poor helpless earth does silently cry!

Pick those papers, clear the scrap, remove those tiny bits,

Dispose off the carcasses and burnt ashes, and oh! the massive load of plastic;

Technology and industries add waste to the land,

No government rules laid down for a “clean earth” plan;

And slogans some shout, ‘Our earth we should save’?

But few come forward, for cleanliness a fraction of us crave!

Loads of thrash our eyes can see, how bitter must our earth be?!

Water, water everywhere but not a drop of that to drink?

Likewise pollution everywhere the earth in dirt just sinks!

Slothful sewage seeping through, lazily upon the ground,

I wonder what earth must feel by filth to be surround?

When those cars and trucks breathe out noxious gases,

Our poor earth would be suffocating with deadly ashes;

Various forms of refuse cause health problems to rise,

For all these different problems the solutions seem disguised;

And how can mankind contribute to a healthy wholesome living?

Each one of us can participate by a the little help we’re giving,

Generating less waste at home perhaps, for that is where it starts;

Using less energy and maybe lessen the burning lights that last?

The plastic that we love to use could surely be switched to paper?

And the water that we’re boiling, limit gas to reduce all the vapor!

When not being used those bulbs and fans – all appliances turned off?

Not only would this save that heat but would reduce our daily cost!

And when we dispose garbage off, maybe we could do it with dignity?

Dumping garbage also speaks of how irresponsible to earth we’d be!

Out goes a humble request to our modern man of today,

Not to build up rubbish and make earth its only prey;

Let us try to save our Earth for she seems to sink garbage,

Let us make a subtle difference to lift her from that bondage!

Because if we all lived by what they call ‘green and clean‘

We will surely find ourselves a new Earth to live in!

Composed by Lee-Anne D’Costa as part of a competition organized By Bank of India