Monday, July 14, 2008

KING KOAL


KING COAL

Tens, dozens, lines of ships,
Off the coast of New South Wales.
Ships full of coal.

Coal, the backbone of our region:
The Hunter Valley.
Making us rich:
Our inheritance.

Will I cheerfully forego the benefits
When the ships
No longer call?
Will I gladly be less warm,
Less pampered, less well-fed?

Will I be happy
When my grandsons inherit a life
Less comfortable and cushioned than mine?

No!

*

Tens, dozens, lines of ships
Bound for the wider world.
Ships full of coal.

Will I be cheerful
When their cargoes pollute
Someone else's skies?
Will I shrug my shoulders
When their Greenhouse Gases
Clog someone else's lungs?

Will I be happy
When my grandsons can no longer enjoy
The Great Barrier Reef?

No!

So I merely drift.........

Fiddling while Rome burns.
at

15 comments:

  1. John FunkJuly 14, 2008 at 10:28 AM

    Great poem. I also particularly like the music. Thank you for visiting my blog and giving me the link to yours. We grandparents need to stick together! :-)

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  2. Diana SJuly 14, 2008 at 12:29 PM

    Hi Brenda, I usually have my speakers turned off but was ripping some music for my MP3 player and decided to blog hop a bit. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Glen Miller coming out of my speakers ! It took me awhile to figure out how he got there ! lol. Yes, I think today's children will live probably live in a very different world when they grow up. They already can't go outside without someone watching them - I used to leave the house in the morning and come home for dinner - not children today. I like your other blog Plus also !

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  3. Bear NakedJuly 15, 2008 at 2:21 AM

    It does seem that the world that we are leaving to our grandchildren's generation will not be the same as we had.

    Please come over to my blog today and read the tribute that I have written for you.

    Bear((( )))

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  4. KatSeptember 22, 2008 at 8:35 PM

    You aren't fiddling Brenda...
    You've ignited that coal and minds... and make people think.

    Lovely poem.

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  5. AnonymousAugust 2, 2012 at 11:03 AM

    Great write! This is certainly one to make you think.

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  6. VBRAugust 2, 2012 at 1:33 PM

    a very thought provoking poem to read, and re-read, and to share. thank you for sharing your writing with us.

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  7. UnknownAugust 2, 2012 at 4:36 PM

    thanks for the poem, very inspiring!

    Amiko

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  8. debraAugust 2, 2012 at 8:47 PM

    beautiful and thoughtful poem...

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  9. AnonymousAugust 2, 2012 at 10:03 PM

    I am hoping my guy and others of his generation will take better care!

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  10. Rocky Mountain WomanAugust 3, 2012 at 2:24 AM

    Coming from "koal" country in PA, I know exactly how dirty and ugly it can be. My dad had a few friends who had "black lung" from working in the mines...

    great poem!!!

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  11. Susan AndersonAugust 3, 2012 at 2:36 AM

    Thought-provoking poem. Thanks!

    =)

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  12. anitamombanitaAugust 3, 2012 at 3:23 AM

    Well done, Rinkly. We do need to find other and better solutions for our energy glut, don't we?!

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  13. Susan MysteryAugust 3, 2012 at 3:28 AM

    Very nice poem. This was a great post on the theme today.

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  14. Esther JoyAugust 4, 2012 at 12:40 AM

    Wow! Now that's a poem to make you think! I guess I'll just keep doing my little part, recycling, etc.

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  15. JennyAugust 10, 2012 at 3:47 AM

    I used to be married to a coal miner.

    For serious.

    Although it's how we made our living back then I was always disturbed by it.

    My first husband won awards for reclamation and that gave me a little solace knowing that the ground was put back, but still.

    Thanks for an inKredible link to the letter 'K'.

    A+

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