Peter Stechschulte. Poetry 

2 degrees

 

2 degrees could pass right by

it might happen without a try.

if 2 degrees comes to pass

the world will change and that, alas,

we no longer can deny.

 

droughts desiccate crops

biodiversity drops.

sea levels rise-how high, how fast.

poles dwindle from melting ice caps.

changes are something we must adopt.

 

smog covers the early dawn

coral reefs slowly gone.

extinction lists forever growing

business mandates ever slowing.

destroying our future and beyond?

 

billions of people need to move

from searing heat would you approve?

animal displacement-pandemics in the making,

Pakistan flooding-an example of future aching.

warming is unjust and that can’t be disproved.

 

transportation, energy,

infrastructure, industry

all systems will need to change. 

overwhelming-so much to rearrange,

but we can’t succumb to lethargy

 

i’m still an optimist.

inventions have come from botanists.

new seeds resistant to drought

putting our future less in doubt. 

can we and our planet ever coexist?

 

water canals flowing under the street

helping to cool the burning concrete.

all ways to cool the earth

but natural tree cover has greater worth

in stopping the 2 degree overheat.

 

green canopy is important to lessen the city’s heat.

this should not benefit only the elite.

critical infrastructure for our urban core

confronting attitudes that we abhor.

our generation will not accept defeat.

 

We have been paralyzed

But now we recognize 

The future is forever tied

To a commitment which must be prioritized

Future me hopes to be…energized!