Will You Choose to Save Me?
By: Juliana March S. Mendoza
Humans! Come see what you have done to
me. Come see what you have done to the world.
Look here and tell me, why?
My trees,
chopped away. Used
for the most pointless
things. Wasted for too
much paper, too much
furniture, too much
business, too much
money! My forests,
denuded, all for the
sake of your buildings!
Your subdivisions!
What have I done for
this to happen?
My seas, filled with swimming trash
everywhere! My beloved fishes, endangered! All
the fault of your oil spills and dynamite fishing! My
corals and coral reefs, what used to be bright and
colorful homes of fish! Now, only gray and crushed
remains.
Oh! My poor animals! Hunted down by your
pursuers for clothes, accessories, bags, decoration,
and food! Their homes, lost among the garbage
piled in every corner. Their number, decreasing. Illtreated and made fun of. How dare you!
My wonderful birds, who seek freedom
from your grasps, shot by hunters! Their safe haven,
the air is nothing but smoke, dust, and dirt! Too
much of your cars have made it that way.
My soil, loaded with plastics and
disposables. The trees that once held them in place
are now gone. The minerals they contain, abused by
the greed inside of each of you and dug by those
who seek wealth and fame. Too much! Too much
has been taken away from me!
The protective shell
around me becomes thinner
and thinner every day.
Remember those greenhouse
gases you released? Yes, yes,
they caused it. Can’t you see
how hot it is? Can’t you see
my ice caps melting, my
small islands sinking?
My energy sources;
all my coal, all my oil, all my
natural gas! Used for too
much! Why can’t you develop alternative sources
and save me?
What has happened to me? Landslides
happen. Typhoons and floods occur. I gave you
shelter! I gave you warmth and coolness when you
needed it! I gave you food and water! I gave you
energy! I gave
you everything!
But you
disappointed me!
After all I’ve done
for you, this is
how you repay
me?
It’s not yet
too late to save me. You can still rescue me.
But, will you choose to save me?