Written by Julianne Wong
To humanity:
My heart aches as I write this letter.
I am petrified and shivering like a child in stone cold weather.
I do not know how much longer I can withstand this torment,
My end is imminent without your help
So please fulfill my one and only desire.
Valleys of mountains offering millions of majestic views,
Reefs flourishing with thousands of innocent lives
Meant to be admired and treasured by those that dwell in this place they call home,
Only to end up being annihilated in the callous hands of mankind.
Watching one of the greatest wonders ever created melt,
Splinter into pieces and eventually pass into oblivion,
Shattered my heart.
Just like how it disintegrated after years of being adrift,
I feel my body ebbing and wasting away piece by piece.
I am well aware that many of you have spent years
Denying the dreadful reality that we are facing today.
Manifold powerful individuals and corporations are still
Sowing doubts onto this controversy.
Denial because of humanity’s uttermost hunger has led to the delay of saving me.
My heart bleeds
As if a knife has been stabbed right through me
With only one intention in mind,
To destroy me.
Each time you drill into my body for crude oil
And plough through my verdant forests,
My skin fades and whittles away.
How much more time do you think I have?
How crucial could wealth and power be that you had to prioritise them over me
And give me bogus hope?
Why sign an agreement when you will not keep your word
And continue destructing me
As if I am one of your emotionless operators used in your factories.
Was signing the Paris Agreement not meant to mitigate global warming?
If so, why do I still feel the same pain coursing through my blood,
The same pain I have been feeling ever since the start of your
Billion-dollar investment in what you call fossil fuel.
I know that at this point it feels as if all hope is lost
And that this nightmare is inevitable,
However, giving up now
Is exactly what is going to cause the damage to be irreversible.
There is still so much more that can be implemented to prevent the atrocities
That are about to come.
What seems impossible can be done,
It is not just a child’s dream.
Now, all we need to do is not turn back.
There are numerous remedies to this predicament,
Majority of which are not widespread and therefore unheard of.
The road towards that transition of cutting greenhouse gas emissions includes
Feeding cows with Asparagopsis,
Converting carbon dioxide into rocks,
Moving away from your industrial factories that pollute my clear blue skies and azure oceans
And the list goes on and on.
Heroes from all over the world, regardless of gender, race or nationality
Are stepping up to reduce their carbon footprint.
Valiant Isatou Caesay of West Africa, alongside with four other women,
Initiated a project in their native village
To educate women in The Gambia
About the impact of plastic waste and how to reclaim it.
Courageous Bill McKibben, author of one of the first books about this global catastrophe,
Even founded an organization, known as 350.org,
In order to establish a platform
For those who believe in the power of unity
In our fight against this monstrosity.
So now, it is up to you to take a stand.
It took a pandemic for the emission levels to decline
And bring back the crystal-clear skies I have longed to see.
Only when your lives are threatened do you forgo driving your cars
And operating your lethal power plants.
Are you not concerned about the vast nature and wildlife around you?
Have you taken for granted the beautiful gift of life around you?
[1]“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly.
We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”
The choice is yours,
Are you going to unite as one and strive for the next tomorrow?
Or are you going to let this catastrophe worsen and let this blue planet collapse?
My fate and the fate of future generations lie in your hands,
This is my plea for help to humanity.
With uttermost concern,
Mother Earth
[1] Quote by Anne-Marie Bonneau
Climate change is an issue that has been around for years yet insufficient action has been taken against it. As youth, we hold the future in our hands, as youth it is our duty to strive for our future and better our society. Hence, I wrote this poem in an attempt to express and vocalise my thoughts and concerns regarding climate change.
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