We go on about
greening and building back better.
Our kids and grandkids say blah blah blah.
Corporations bandy about terms like
carbon neutrality and net-zero emissions.
Those who’ll pay dearest say blah blah blah.
World leaders hold summits
and agree we must, we will…
Earth’s defenders say put action where your mouth is.
Buzzwords, slogans, catchphrases,
organizational greenwashings—
blah blah blah, our young activists say.
Earth, too, is speaking
in terms starkly clear
as the Doomsday Clock ticks forward.
About the Poem
Researchers in the journal Science report that a child 6-years-old in 2020 will experience twice as many cyclones and wildfires, three times as many river floods, four times as many crop failures, five times as many droughts, and 36 times as many heat waves than a person who was born in 1960. Cognizant of such threats, Greta Thunberg recently voiced her impatience with governments that say they will take steps to address climate change, yet follow up with little or no action. She sums up the current state of affairs: “blah blah blah.”
About the Author
Darrell Petska, a retired university editor from Madison, Wisconsin, writes poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. Past work can be found in Buddhist Poetry Review, Nixes Mate Review, Boston Literary Magazine, Verse-Virtual, Loch Raven Review, and widely elsewhere.