A World On Fire
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Author's Notes: This poem, "A World on Fire," is a thought-provoking piece that I've had in the back of my mind for a while. It is a theme that should have poignant meaning for all of as poets and writers since we individually and collectively write on many of the subjects found in my poetic effort here. When any writer confronts issues of broad world-wide import, there is bound to be something contained therein that may tickle the fancy of each and every one of us. Anyway, this is my take on what I see and contemplate when I look at what is going on at large in the world today. My "Tercet" poetic write is by no means all-seeing and all-knowing, and is far from being exhaustive when one considers that there are many other problems and afflictions that also trouble our world and the people who live in it today. From my view and vantage point, this write is for me a macro snapshot of salient and most urgent historical issues which still vex mankind and our world today. (Gary Bateman, October 16, 2014) (Tercet unrhymed poetic format)
Categories: allegory, change, earth, history, international, introspection, and nature.
We live today in a world of great tumult
And of rising uncertainty and anxiety
Which pervade the world stage like a cancer
Despite soaring technological advances
Our environment and our home Earth
Are bearing an unimaginable burden
People are wondering what must be done
To right these wrongs and adjust our course
Before we turn the corner to “No Return”
Tyranny, Poverty, Disease, and War
Are still with us today since the beginning
Of time and are mankind’s greatest shame
God may be with us intellectually
But mankind must be self-reliant
To survive an inattentive, distant deity
People see answers to these enigmas
Sounds are made, echoes are heard
But nothing comes back in response
Frustration reigns supreme for many
Fear and anxiety multiple all concerns
There can never be easy answers
*******
Tyranny still reigns alive in many countries
As the actions of tin-eared dictators abound
And are on ample display for all to see
Poverty is still a shameful, terrible curse
Which afflicts the most unfortunate
And is paid lip service by the wealthy
Disease is a scourge still in our world
And still felt by those most in need
And never enough is done to change this
War is the ultimate insult to mankind
And its wide-felt swath and affliction
Plagues yet our modern, enlightened world
What to make of all these challenges
Is not easy for any of us to digest
And let alone understand why
Yet understand, comprehend we must
If we want a better world for all to live in
A Sisyphean task at its very best
Man still holds the key to make change
Positive and real for our troubled Earth
But can it ever be really so in the end
Gary Bateman, Copyright © All Rights Reserved,
Schoeningen, Germany (October 16, 2014)
(Tercet unrhymed poetic format)
Copyright © Gary Bateman | Year Posted 2014
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