Judgemeadow Community College, Leicester
The truth is it's happening and it was us
When future kids see lions, tigers, elephants as we once saw dinosaurs
They will ask what killed them
We cannot say a meteor, an ice age
The truth is it was us
When future kids walk wearing gas masks, something we only ever imagined in our dystopian fairytales
They will ask why there isn’t enough oxygen in the air
We won’t be able to say Mother Nature has stopped doing its job
The truth is it was us
When future kids cry because it’s too hot for their innocent little bodies to function in scorching temperatures
They will ask mummy, daddy why can’t we use the electricity to cool us down
We couldn’t possibly say money is an issue
The truth is it was us
When future kids only hear about islands like The Maldives, Vanuatu and Tuvalu in stories and the tales of the elderly
They will ask why did they disappear
We may say the great sea monster gobbled them all up
The truth is it was us
When future kids throw tantrums saying they want to swim in the seas and oceans
They will ask why it is not safe
We will make stories about the great white shark when far too many of us will know the last of those died years ago
The truth is it was us
We thought recycling plastic was enough when we knew most if not all would end up in the oceans
We thought walking for only a day was enough when we knew the warming atmosphere would make sea levels rise
We thought of a world one degree warmer was nothing when we knew that every documentary said it would be catastrophic if it rose higher
We thought cutting down a few trees for our selfish needs wouldn’t do any harm when we knew orangutans were dying and carbon dioxide wasn’t being absorbed
We thought scientists would create more animals when we knew our kids would never be able to see them
The truth is it’s happening. And it’s always been us.
