A Poem About Pollution

One time there was a river here.

It filled our hearts with joy and cheer,

To know that we should never fear,

The day when it might disappear,

Into a realm of black.

And so, we simply couldn’t tell,

‘Cause there wasn’t any smell,

That we may be on the road to hell,

Thus, we turned our backs.

One day – the little river cried,

As all the little fishes died.

And, some observant persons spied

A fact we simply couldn’t hide,

For it might kill us all.

Appears the river is polluted now,

But, no one knew exactly how

Or why it had to happen now –

Couldn’t this wait ‘til fall?

I guess the deal’s a year-round plot

By all of us who throw our rot

Into the river and the lot

And where we rest when summer’s hot –

In that landfill by the lake.

Spring and summer seasons end,

And smoke, the fact’ries to us send.

I think it’s time to see my friend,

That we’ve made a big mistake.

The sky one day may turn to dark.

The robin and the meadowlark

May no longer flitter in the park.

And, the land around us may be so stark,

But some don’t seem to care.

We can no longer hesitate.

We can no longer sit and wait.

It does no good to contemplate,

About our filthy air.

So, if we could just have one more chance,

We could take a slightly different stance,

And put away the ‘won’ts and can’ts’,

And everyone would take a glance

At what is there to see.

Get rid of all the heat and grime,

And D-D-T and pesticides,

We might build that little stream in time

To what it used to be.