ONCE UPON A PLANET
(For Earth Day 2024)
The sky above our head is A ragged umbrella in need of a needle
The rain which leaks through the ruptureIs a cocktail of contending toxins
The cloud up there is a wet blanketDripping like a dirge upon a feverish earth
The birds fled several season agoWithout leaving a forwarding address
Prodigal saws have felled the joy Of flourishing forests
There is a twilight stanzaIn the song of the wind
Several seasons ago we sowed the WindThe Whirlwind is ripe for our heedless reaping
The Earth we used to knowIs once-upon-a-time
Niyi Osundare, one of Africa’s foremost poets and academics, is Emeritus Distinguished Professor of English, University of New Orleans.