Earth Hour Poem

Many gaze at the oceans
Admire lush forests
The majesty of tigers
And the glory of nature

They lament
The sad plight of dolphins
The massacre of whales
The destruction of coral reefs

Many wax eloquent
On the folly of Man
On his indifference
On his passive cruelty

Hold on! stop.

Are you not Man too?
Does not this responsibility
Lie equally on your shoulders?

Is it not time that we stopped vain chatter
And the lament of widows?

Stand up. Be a Man.
And being such
Take what comes with it.

We don’t need hollow voices
Enough has been said already
True work lies in the doing

Start with the Man in the Mirror
If you want to make the world a better place
Take a look at yourself and make a change.

I wrote this for the poetry slam at Atmos today for earth hour. Couldn't make it there. Thanks to Madhu and her cousin Ram for getting it read!