Air is dense, humidity heavy
thunder rolls, lightning cracks
The planet burns unchecked
all forms of life in danger
It began with the steam engine
it was fueled by human greed
Roads are melting, railroads too
creatures perish with lost habitat
We wring our hands, much too late
it’s done, the Earth is on fire from now on
Heat, more than we can tolerate
greed created the planet’s pyre
Published in The Lark
7
Sometimes sea breeze sings to me
of nature, trees, blooms, butterflies, bees,
gentle, sweetly, resting my soul
Summer winds cool the mind, passions
are soothed, memories salved, grief stilled
so much sorrow yet still I smile
This landscape is my second home
my first is gone, as family died over years,
homesick still for that time, that love
No one knows that I weep inside
for generations that have left me
no surprise, I want to go home
Wondering where I begin or end
vapors inhaled change my voice-
that was part of my identity
Side effects of chemicals need more
to ease the woes they cause, am I
short-tempered or is it the drug in me
Pain-killers mask a lot of aches
exposing the mind to the spells
contained in these chemicals
Short-term memory shot to bits
by failing to exhale all the toxins
like normal lungs used to do
I feel am a ghost of me, chemicals
and symptoms hide my person
I weep for I am misunderstood
So, what is me, what is a drug
chemicals are changing my identity
Writer and psychologist. My health, a journey with two life shortening diseases 